Before I could see you I labored for long weeks.

When you finally came, I kissed your rosy cheeks.

Every day we loved you for almost eighteen years,

Every day in our home, through fun, work, prayers and tears.

Nighttime feeding,

Diaper-changing,

Baby-cooing,

Not much snoozing!

Learning to talk,

Learning to walk,

‘Fraid of the dark,

Walks at the park.

A, B, C’s, Doctor Seuss,

1’s, 2’s, 3’s, Mother Goose.

Off to church, home to play.

Toys and games, learn to pray.

Horseback rides

Slip and Slides,

Off to camp,

Night light lamp.

Forest Home,

Games at home,

Friends at church,

Hide and search.

Bible story,

Yosemite,

Homework and school,

Vacations cool.

Mothers, daughters,

Birthday parties,

Mothers and sons,

Cinnamon buns.

Adolescence.

Life’s hard menace.

Fighting evils,

Fighting devils.

Hours in prayer,

Relentless care,

Costliest love,

Hope from above.

Birds leave the nest;

I’ve done my best.

Good seeds I’ve sown;

Off, on their own.

Learning to fly

Nesting on high,

“Worms in the grass!

Watch out for cats!”

Tick, tock, it’s two,

My how they grew.

Tick, tock, it’s three,

Bedrooms empty.

Tick, tock it’s four,

Emptied a drawer.

Tick, tock, it’s five.

No place to drive.

Time passes by,

The days flew by.

Memories, tears,

Years upon years.

Stuffed lion sleeps,

Baseball card heaps,

Princess dresses,

Spills and messes,

Hair ribbon bows,

Cute princess clothes,

Blue mermaid dolls,

Stickers on walls.

Model airplanes,

Electric trains.

Basketball hoops,

Blue Hula Hoops.

An era comes,

An era goes,

Sweet reflections,

Recollections.

Passing the torch,

From my front porch.

Sweet memories,

Great treasuries.

Legacy prayed,

Keepsakes, homemade,

“Lord, as they roam,

Please bring them home.”