fish bones
reuniting with grandparents and aunts and uncles i haven't seen in years or at all. you were only up to my knee... i can't believe you're all grown up! their eyes all twinkle the same. it is overwhelming to see the unconditional love that surrounds me, unmarred by distance or time. growing old is all i think about lately. i can't escape it. it faces me in the mirror with my more noticeable laugh lines and in the swollen feet and weaker voices of my relatives who can't carry themselves as far as they used to.
then, it's lunch time. my mother is flanked by me and her own mother. my mom reminisces about her childhood when she would enjoy fish because my grandmother assumed the role of bone picker. i look to my right where she slides the sharp needle-like bones out of a red snapper, placing the clean chunks on my grandma's plate while a mound of bones piles up on hers. i can't help but jump ahead. soon, it will be me in my mom's chair, inspecting fish to make sure she can eat.