A decade ago, the day before Christmas, my mother announced we were no longer celebrating Christmas. "Boys, go to find a big 1 that we can use as a tree". My mother said, "We are going to 2 the tree with leftovers for the seagulls to eat. Those guys must get 3 in winter when there isn't much 4 ."
"Mom, we don't want to 5 you, but does anyone else think it kind of crazy?" One of my brothers asked 6 . "You'll do whatever your mother wants." My father jumped into 7 . Then on the -30°beach, my family gathered around a branch stuck into the 8 with boxes of food to 9 what my mom named "Seagull Day." Our bodies shook, fingers 10 .
Ten years later, with the chill of the air and the 11 of kids, my mom declared, "Find little places on the tree to 12 the snacks. Think of them as beautiful decorations" My daughters, nieces and nephews 13 immediately with wild joy. When the boxes and bags of snacks were 14 , we stood back and 15 our creation. We asked a passer-by to take pictures of us with our tree. "What's this all about?" She asked 16 .
"It's Seagull Day!" The kids said 17 . They were surprised when people hadn't heard of Seagull Day. To them, it was a(an)18 —maybe as big as a national—holiday.
My social media posts and pictures have 19 long lines of questions and the "I want to do this next year!" promise. I 20 everyone, "Yes, you do!"
