by Stephanie Kaplan Cohen
This time of year my house in Scarsdale has hot and cold running people, filling up my guest rooms, bar stools, lawn chairs and swimming pool. When I wrote the stories that make up In My Mother’s House, I viewed the family from a child’s point of view. As a child I was concerned for myself and how others related to me. As an adult I have the luxury and torment of observing how each relates to the other ones.
MY PERFECT FAMILY
The world of my family
is the world. Some
don’t like the politics
of some. Some don’t
like the spouses of some.
Some don’t like some.
They gather at my table
and I, the ignorant
know-nothing mother,
grandmother, mother-in-law,
smile, and tell them all
how happy they make me
with their love and devotion
to each other.