Gathered around Grandma’s kitchen table,
I admire a tiny book with aged pages,
spills with generations of recipes,
and ripped edges.

My grandma reveals
the family favorite: 24 hour salad.
The soft and satisfying dessert with its airy 
marshmallow cream engulfs the sweet and juicy fruit hiding inside.

Reading the faded cursive in the book, I slice the grapes,
cut the pineapple and chop the apples into chunks.
I drop the marshmallows into the bowl
and add the fluffy cream dressing.

Showing me how to mix
it together—placing her gentle
hands on mine—she says in a soft voice,
“Soon you will be able to make it better than me.”

I place the bowl in the fridge to sit for 24 hours.
The fruit soaks in the sugary fluff.
Each piece of fruit fills with sweet
juices tasted in each bite.

It’s Christmas Day…
aunts, uncles and cousins scurry
through the door asking for the 24 hour salad.
The family gathers around Grandma’s kitchen table.