The stockings are gutted, the presents unwrapped
The women have cleaned up, the men have all napped
And so now the birthday girl can finally sit
And dig into to find out what presents she’ll get
“What’s this?” she exclaims as she opens the bag
“Some paper?” she says as she looks at the tag
But no, she looks closer and sees with a smile
A poem on the paper, in Clerihew style
But not just a poem, a saga, a tale
Of another years passage along life’s long trail
A tale of a mother and father and kids
And all of the crazy old things they all did
As she reads it she laughs, remembers, and sighs
Shaking her head at how quickly time flies
A year that began with babies and children
Now ends with toddlers and new adult men
Isaiah and Ava went from lying to walking
Sweet princess Ava is even now talking
Little man Helaman now adds and subtracts
Loves learning to read and looking at maps
The birthday girl, grandma, looks back at the year
Full of grandbaby hugs, smiles and tears
And thinks that it’s good to be getting so old
For with age comes grandkids more precious than gold
All of her kids, but one, are now out on their own
Leaving Greta at home feeling oh so alone
But at 12, so grown up, she’s come so far
The woman of the house and a basketball star
Christopher graduated, and turned eighteen
Finished forever with the old high school scene
He fell in love and had his first kiss
And moved out of the house on top of all this
He bought his own car with his money hard earned
While going to college and becoming more learned
But he still comes home every now and then
For the love of his mommy on which he depends
Spencer was gone, and then he was home
And we’ve all watched with love at how he has grown
Closer to Christ and stronger in faith
While working hard at school and at Ace
Spencer and Chris moved out on their own
But since they’re always together they’re never alone
Now they eat hot pockets, and veggies are treats
But there are worse things in life than too many meats
Cari and Josh got all growed up, too
Josh now works full time and is finished with school
They bought a huge house whose closets are rooms
Which now all their time and their money consumes
They hop about the country on lots of fun trips
Where they run into snags and have accidents
But in all the madness they also have fun
And are thankful each day that they found “the one”
Then as if true love just wasn’t enough
Into their world came Callie the pup
And for a short time, her ill-fated friend
And Cari thought dog fun would just never end
Though they live far, they cannot escape
Their families who love them and to Texas do traipse
For fun in the hot San Antonio sun
Mom, Dad, Grandma, Greta did speedily come
Here we pause as the birthday girl reflects on the trip
And the far flung lives of her seven sweet kids
That she cradled and coddled and taught how to walk
Oh how far now those feet have taken her tots
But back to our epic adventure we turn
With the story of Michael and his traveling yearn
That took his dear loved ones to the far distant shores
Of the Dominican Republic, where he labored for souls
Michael, and Tara, and Ava to boot
With 2 moms and a dad by plane, car, and foot
Discovered the people, the oceans, the food
Took it all in, and declared it all good
Then home once again he got back to work
Supporting his family, and never did shirk
His duty to bring the bacon on home
And their needs to have fun (or maybe his own)
With the hope and the thought of great summer fun
For many hours they toiled in the sun
Fixing the pool left in deep disarray
To a place where the neighborhood now comes to play
And while we leave them there, having fun in the sun
Let’s look at the year of her most oldest son
With his gadabout ways and his newlywed wife
Strumming his way through his gee-tar filled life
This Billy, you see, sure does move around
Sneaking into Cuba where Castro is found
By way of Mexico (speaking of fun in the sun)
And back home again safely, that son of a gun
He summered in Idaho playing guitar
With a stint as a cowboy in a band in a bar
(or resort, but you know, bar rhymed with guitar
and while we’re sidenoting, “har-hardy-har-har”)
Billy mostly finished school with two classes left
Saving his pennies to finish the rest
Then to Salt Lake they have gone… and now stay
Waiting to make the big move to L.A.
And speaking of moving, there was more of that, too
Because Jinny’s Omar has just finished school
And now to the faraway desert they go
Where the white of the sand is like dirty snow
To Ridgecrest they’ve gone and there bought a home
And there are adjusting to being all grown
And away from the family who before was so near
And for whom they often still shed a tear
Family did visit in the hot desert sands
To check out the base and the great empty lands
And they’ll go there again, there is no doubt
As long as two cute boys are running about
To Utah, to Texas, Hawaii, and Ridgecrest
Dominican Republic, which trip was the best
It’s too hard to say ‘cause all the world round
This birthday girl’s happy where family is found
With memories we leave her at the end of this year
Growing old, smiling, and shedding some tears
Surrounded by children and grandkids who love her
Who loves them back with the love of a mother
