(Originally posted on the website Continuum…)

The elephant laughed.
“Why, of all silly things!
I haven’t feathers and I haven’t wings.
ME on your egg? Why, that doesn’t make sense…
Your egg is so small, ma’am, and I’m so immense!”

HOW TIME FLIES when you are having fun! It took forever for Tuesday and H and M to arrive. Now it is already the day after they left and I am sitting here writing about it. It is already a memory. It’s a good memory. We had a good time. We did some special things that will anchor the memory of this Thanksgiving holiday into our minds.

For H and M, there is always the excitement of seeing their older sister. They spend most of their time here with her. The poor girl can hardly go to the bathroom without the two little ones following her. She takes care of them like a pro and has the utmost patience with them.

I am happy that the bond of love between us has remained strong. When families are separated it is easy for their members to drift apart in their emotions. Hell, even families that live under the same roof are often living in separate and distant universes. Right from the start in our ordeal of family disintegration, I determined that the bond between all of my children would be strong. All the long miles of driving, the phone calls, the piling into the little car together, the making due with what we had, the equality of treatment between all of us, has paid off. S is the big sister who is greeted by the overwhelming love and desire of two younger sisters. T and J are the older brothers who are the coolest brothers anyone could have. I have the privilege of being the man of whom a seven-year-old can say, “You are the best daddy that I ever had!”

But at that very instant, the egg burst apart!
And out of the pieces of red and white shell,
From the egg that he’d sat on so long and so well,
Horton the elephant saw something whizz!
IT HAD EARS
AND A TAIL
AND A TRUNK JUST LIKE HIS!

ANOTHER THING the girls look forward to when they come to visit is seeing two other girls that live on our street. The four of them became such good friends over the summer. The original plan was to let the girls play together the day after H and M arrived. But the bonds of friendship are too strong to be patient after enduring separation for four months. Soon there was a knock at the door and the four months were gone as a dream. Such as friendship should be: do not wait when you know your friend is close at hand. Knock!

Do not be as casual as a slug!
Knock on the door, give your friend a hug!
Life is too short for you to ever waste,
Embrace your friend, put a smile on his face!

THANKSGIVING DAY was nice here, weather and company. I took some photos in the morning while the sky was clear and the sun was low enough to produce great colors and contrasting shadows. My brother and sisters came over for dinner. There were nieces and nephews, sons and daughters, fathers and mothers. The food was outstanding. The wine was nice. It was a good day.

On the fifteenth of May, in the Jungle of Nool,
In the heat of the day, in the cool of the pool,
From the egg that he’d sat on so long and so well,
He was splashing… enjoying the jungle’s great joys…
When Horton the elephant heard a small noise.

A HIGHLIGHT of the girls’ visit was the time we spent reading Dr. Seuss stories. We read “Horton Hatches the Egg” and “Horton Hears a Who.” Of course, Snyders don’t simply read Dr. Seuss. They make up all the voices too! You have to have character to read a Seuss story out loud! You have to become characters. You must feel their passion, their distress, their joy! You must become one with the Seuss! Use the Seuss, Luke! (Huh?) All the little Whos listen up that way. They pay attention. They follow along and learn to read better.

They snuggle and wuggle and cuddle up tight.
They laugh and they giggle. It’s the bestest of sights!

NOT ONLY did we read Seuss, we saw Seuss. “The Cat in the Hat” movie that is. The day after Thanksgiving Day, the girls begged me to go see it. I was very hesitant to see it. There are certain things that you do not do to a Dr. Seuss story. One of them is Jim Carey. The other is Mike Myers.

Oh dear! Oh Dear! I have bad news!
Look what they’ve done to Dr. Seuss!
First, they stole the dear old Grinch!
Now with the Cat they’ve made me cringe!

However, the kids liked the movie. I just liked being with them.

Well, Thanksgiving came and went. The girls were here. The girls are gone. We have to adjust to being apart again.

But Christmas is coming. The girls will be back. At the top of our list of things to do at that time is: Read “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” by none other than Dr. Seuss.

But the sound wasn’t sad!
Why, this sound sounded merry!
It couldn’t be so!
But it was merry! VERY!
He stared down at Who-ville!
The Grinch popped his eyes!
Then he shook!
What he saw was a shocking surprise!
Every Who down in Who-ville, the tall and the small,
Was singing! Without any presents at all!
He HADN’T stopped Christmas from coming!
IT CAME!
Somehow or other, it came just the same!

The girls will be back. The bond will be strengthened. More memories will be made. Seeing each other will be the best Christmas gift of all.