When I was a child, we’d drive eight hours
to celebrate Christmas
at my grandparents’ near Chicago.
When we finally arrived,
giddy and grateful,
my brother and I
would run into the living room
to find our favorite ornaments on the tree.
Making sure they were still there
affirmed that all was right in the world.
One of our favorites was an ornament
that like a carousel
with a pinwheel in the middle
that spun around when we blew on it.
It was like magic,
reflecting the twinkling lights
as it whirled about.
When I grew up and things changed
just as things always do,
my mom gave me
a replica of that merry-go-round.
When I put mine on our tree,
I blow on it with my kids
and watch that pinwheel twirl around,
stirring up cherished memories
and making new ones, too.
