I barely knew my Grandmother as an adult, but all the same, I’ll never forget what she contributed to my childhood. Thinking back, the memory that bubbles up first is Christmas. Years when the whole family gathered at Grace Avenue for turkey, presents and good cheer. Perhaps those December nights stand out so prominently because the scene repeated many times, and the large cast of characters remained consistent each year; we were fortunate like that. Even more blessed, our numbers steadily grew. So when the family descended on Ground Zero for the big day, we were a huge brood, indeed. In the early eighties, it seemed like fifty people celebrating, each one spilling out of a corner or cranny, each one with a smile or a joke. Maybe it was more. Maybe it was less. But it was indisputably a lot of people for a house that size.

Christmas meant singing, too. Everyone was welcome to chime in for any verses to the Twelve Days of Christmas. Except one stanza. One line was Grandma’s and Grandma’s alone, and when I think about it, the sound of her voice comes right back through the years. The volume paused, the background chatter dipped, and every person watched the big smile on her face as she sang in a measured tone, Five Golden Rings.

There’s another moment of consequence. A grainy black and white picture of Grandma as a child. Today it sits on a table in my cousin’s living room, and on a bookcase at my mother’s house. A family portrait with her father, mother, and her sisters taken by a professional photographer. Despite her age, and height—she was just a little girl—my eyes without hesitation settle upon her. Grandma stood off and away from her sisters, away from the entire family, in fact. And though it’s clear who she belonged with, she distinguished herself, her arms and hands higher, her head tilted differently. Even as a child, the world was on notice. Cecilia Hilliard had something to say.

She was unique, and she lived a different kind of life. One where she was not afraid to stick out now and again, or take a few chances. Of all the places and people I’ve seen, I can say honestly, no one else was quite like her. I’m lucky she was the person she was.

Thank you for Christmas.

Thank you for my mother.

Thank you for Five Golden Rings.