By Rosie Preston
This poem was published years ago when Alyse was in high school at the Alabama School of Fine Arts in Birmingham. She also has an MBA from Rollins College. Alyse is the daughter of Anita Hand, whom I was friends with at Gadsden High School many years ago.
Alyse is on the Board of Visitors for the College of Communication & Information Sciences at the University of Alabama and a senior manager of Labor Systems Disney. Now in her 30s, Alyse is married to Chris Goodwin, who also works at Disney.
I Remember
When I was young,
I made snowmen
with button eyes and raisin mouths.
I would pick up icy balls of snow in my
green mittens dotted with holly berries.
On Christmas eve,
the fire would spark with magic
and the Christmas tree would
make the den glow.
Barely knowing how to spell
I would scribble a note to Santa, along with some warm gingerbread and milk.
Christmas morning
is what I remember most.
At five o’clock in the morning,
jumping out of bed and running
to see what Santa had left. I would rip
the wrapping off of gifts and squeal with excitement
at every opening.
This Christmas,
my daughter and I read Christmas stories
on the couch as she looks outside the window, anticipating Santa’s arrival.
I kiss her head and remember
holly berries.
A big shout-out to Anita who helped me get this update about Alyse within minutes!
Keep Smiling, Rosie