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Thanksgiving, Christmas, and milestone birthdays were the highlights of my childhood. The holidays were gatherings of everyone we were related to; as an only child, seeing my crowd of cousins was the best part, but I enjoyed my uncles and aunts and grandparents too. Everyone was so nice, so affectionate, so ready to have fun. The way to express affection to a girl (after a big hug) was to tell her she was pretty--pretty dress, pretty hair--"too skinny though--we'll have to ma

When I was a little girl, my Aunt Ann was someone I always knew and loved. I knew her first as a young woman who played the piano, encouraged me in my music, and taught me Amazing Grace and many other songs. Thanksgiving and Christmas were always big family events where every family member old and young was present. Ann and my mom and my aunt Reba took turns hosting, and helping out whoever was hosting. All the women contributed their best dishes. As kids, our job was to have