My "Yearly Yen" of days gone by. . .

"Mom and Dad" on the Queen Mary, 1959

The Holiday Season, beginning with Thanksgiving for me, brings the past rushing in to settle warmly in my heart, for as time passes I realize how my rich memories stoke and stir something in my being (my soul?) that comes from no other source.
 

Celebrations were always keenly felt in my house while growing up. . .to enhance those celebrations was the moving of my paternal grandparents to our city, Huntsville, when I was a pre-teen; hence, Huntsville became the "place to be" during the holidays for aunts, uncles and cousins. 

Large gatherings at Thanksgiving were the norm at our house. . .relatives flocked for the day, football games were on, turkey and trimmings filled the air with delicious aromas -the female laughter sprinkled out from the kitchen while the "in-laws" and "out-laws" worked their culinary magic with love.  The children gathered downstairs around the roaring fire, ping pong table, piano, stereo, the bar (at that age, for cokes in bottles and Spanish peanuts!). . .all the necessary ingredients to keep us at bay!  Tables set upstairs and down to accommodate all.  After dinner, we gathered around the fire while night encroached to share stories and luxuriate in the day, some sneaking back upstairs to have more pie, more coffee, just one more bite of turkey. . .

As they say, "the fabric of our lives."  It wasn't cotton - it was the sharing.

I've just completed a commission - a wedding portrait that commemorates another kind of family celebration. . .spurring on and adding to my thoughts of love, family and celebration - can you tell?  So appropriate for this time of year and contributing to my yearly yen of days gone by.  While painting this portrait, I settled upon an Eva Cassidy song, "I Know You By Heart," written by Diane Scanlon and Eve Nelson: 

"Midnights in winter

The glowing fire

Lights up your face in orange and gold

I see your sweet smile

Shine through the darkness

It's line is etched in my memory

So I'd know you by heart"

This beautiful, might I add melancholy song, strikes a chord with me at this time of year for I dearly miss my parents. . .I've had thirty holidays without dad and twenty-seven without mom. . .the very ones who made my warm celebratory memories of childhood possible.  The only "remember when?" conversations are lovely quiet thoughts.  

The commission has absorbed my heart and soul. . .forgive me for not attending to the blog so much.  Posts may be scant throughout the next month, but I'm continuing to work on my art journey and happily anticipating spending time with loved ones. . .thank you for experiencing this yearly yen with me!