Grammy

To love with abandon. 

You saw me, and you loved me. 

But not just me,

You saw us all. 

To be near you was to be seen. 

To know you was to be known.

To love you was to be loved. 

To be in your house was to be home. 

Starry skies, Sugar maples, lacy ferns,

Wind chimes, hot tub.

A pan overflowing with the best scraps 

Sitting on the porch for the cats,

Because your generosity overflowed to them too.

I hear laughter and good nature, and lots of noisy cousins, and friends.

I smell big pans of lasagna and extra toasty toast.

I see scrabble boards and a kitchen island full of food. And a candy jar.

And there are freezers full of extra food

Down in the old dirt basement,

Just in case the whole world comes for dinner.

Because your heart was

As wide as the world.

Boxes of music books,

Miracas, the old xylophone, jingle bells and

Round drums hanging on the walls that sounded like

Rain drops on a tin roof

Front porch toys, lots of dolls, 

Ticking clocks, flower paintings and

Wooden trinkets from far away places.

Pictures on tables and walls of lots of faces,

Faces of your four children, and their children,

And their children’s children. 

Sunshine is shining in through your windows

And tidy mess is nested on shelves and 

untidy messes fill cabinets,

And we know that you accepted us,

and our messes, 

That you believed in us and hoped good things for us.

I close my eyes

And I hear 

a couple of red wasps buzzing against window sills.

You liked to sing, just for fun and

To praise the Lord.

You delighted in your life

And in the lives of others.

You gave without giving up.

You loved because you loved.

And you loved without charging interest,

Without demanding anything in return.

There is no world in which Grammy

Doesn’t exist. 

There is no reality,

Without her. 

And yet, here we are. 

But your legacy is as wide and as deep as your heart. 

You loved until the end, 

and then you fell asleep. 

A life lived to its fullest, and now

Sweet rest for your soul.

Until we meet again, Grammy,

We love you, and we miss you.