Moments of Beauty

The way my brother can make me laugh with just one look...

My dad, skinny in his smoking days, before he was really my dad. His mustache looking huge on his slimmer face, he smiles his open mouth, closed eyes smile and begins the only dance we ever saw from him—the shuffle feet quickly/turn in a tight circle dance—as he turned up the Doobie Brothers and sang. That day, my brother, sister and I got up and danced his dance with him...

A memory of my mom, from when I was a small child, playing hide and seek with me. I sat in the middle of the couch, drew my knees to my chest, covered my eyes and giggled as I watched her pretend to look for me from between my fingers...

Dressing in pseudo-drag with my brother, sister, and two cousins, and then parading before the family cameras, before we decided it wasn't cool to be a kid and play dress-up...

Every time my brother and I retell THE VERVE PIPE story....

Watching my sister wipe tears from her face when she laughs too hard....

The flecks of green in my husband's brown eyes that I can only see when we are close enough to kiss...

The way my uncle Brian can tell the same story hundreds of times, but it is always so funny we all end up on the floor, gripping our sides and begging him to stop...

The black tail that wags furiously when I come home, and how excited she gets when I pull her leash out of her toy box...

The feeling in my heart when I am with the people I love most in the world, sharing time and laughter...