kissing cousins

A favorite picture of me and Cousin Peter Browne, circa 1968.

Loved to kiss those California cousins!

Bonus point: Why is there a trash can in the middle of the table?

ghosts of christmas past

Nick at Grandma Susie's house, East Bridgewater, 1993

Hannah in Middleboro, 1997 or 98

Lucy in Towson, Maryland, 1958

Dorothy, Lucy, Sara in Hyattsville, Maryland, 1960

love poem at christmas

Uncle Jack Loomis and Aunt Eleanor Brown were partners for over 50 years. They met in 1918, during World War I in France, where she was a telephone operator in the Signal Corps and he was stationed in Tours. Throughout their photo albums is evidence of the deep love they had for each other, their families, and their animals. Aunt Eleanor was the subject of most of the pictures, as Uncle Jack trained his lens on her with loving regularity. There are pictures of hikes through the Palisades, visits to Central Park, stays with friends, visits to the Washington Zoo, international travel, silliness with dogs and birds. They had no children, but their photo albums are populated with photos of their niece and nephews and their children -- us!

In 1936 Aunt Eleanor took a trip to Seattle for a month at Christmastime. Uncle Jack sent her the card pictured above with the following poem:

Gee, I miss you, Funny Person,
When the house is still and quiet
And the clock's eternal ticking
Rends the silence like a riot.
And I miss you in the morning,
In the evening, all the time.
So return with flying footsteps,
Answering my humble rhyme.
--J.P.L.

At this season of the year, when we're sometimes not sure what we're celebrating, I wish you the kind of love that this poem celebrates – rich, deep, and profound. ~~xxxooo