I asked Mama why he spent every holiday with us. He’d bring flowers and caramels, tell jokes, and do magic tricks. He didn’t mind Grandma’s poetry readings, my father’s pipe smoke, my annoying little brothers, or the burnt roasts. “Look around,” she said. “We were the only family he had.”

Liz recently discovered listening to mooing cows is very relaxing. Find her at lizmayers.com.