The Yard Where Everyone Came Back

Our family never needed much of a reason to cook outside. Birthdays, graduations, someone getting a new job, someone losing one, Sundays when nobody felt like being alone. If the grill was going, people showed up.

That yard saw babies grow, cousins argue, uncles tell the same stories, and grandparents sit in folding chairs like they were holding court. It was not fancy. Half the chairs did not match and somebody was always asking who brought the ice.

I placed this hex because this is what our family looked like at its best. Loud, tired, hungry, thankful, and together in Oklahoma.