Family Lives On

"Family Lives On"

Families grow
People move on
Things change
Traditions die
New ones begin
Sorrow passes
Happiness blossoms.
We watch through
A tinted window
As life goes on
Without a sound


The last baptism,
The last baby book,
The last first step,
The last "hand-me-down"
The last tee-ball game.
The last school concert-
....(A sigh of relief)
The last Christmas with Santa-
....The first drink of champagne on New Years.
The last show-and-tell,
The last middle-school science fair.
The last vacation with all of us.
The last highschool football game;
The last win
The last loss.
The last license test,
The last "first drive",
The last SAT's,
The last AP's,
The last graduation,
....The first step into a new era.
The last boy packing for college,
The last empty room;
....The first home free of minors (!)

The first to leave the family nest,
The first marriage,
The first chance to travel,
The first pregnant mother-
....The last chance to travel.
The first grandchild,
....Another car-ride with screaming children.
The first trip down memory lane.
The first godparents,
The first doting aunts,
The first birthday.
The first real job-
....Out in the "real world."
The first to move out of state-
....Others to follow:
The first to go their separate ways,
The first Thanksgiving spent alone,
The first to establish the importance of home

And a new generation,
A nation of firsts.
Renewed traditions,
Revived history.
The past may fade
From memory,
But family lives on
....In the hearts of the strong.