A Cherished Family Member

A Cherished Family Member

When Daddy died I was full grown.
The able one
To take charge, give comfort, handle details.
You saw through all that and gave me consolation.

As time passed you played the Grandpa
To lift them high.
Not just mine, but others, needing ‘Pappahs.’
I watched you make a difference in their lives.

Years flew by, well sometimes flew.
Then you were there,
For celebrations, sorrows, sleepless nights.
More than ‘acquaintance,’ you shared the good and bad.

When I became a Grandma proud and thrilled,
You were present.
The chosen Godfather, the ‘Pappah Walt.’
Great Grandpa by selection, if not by genes.

Your spouse passed on and for a while,
You leaned a bit-
On us, your non-related family-by-choice.
We felt so grateful to be there for you.

Now miles come between our house and yours.
We keep in touch.
Write a bit, chat by phone, say a prayer.
For prayer knows no boundaries of space or time.

We are forever bound as family.
We cherish you.
Grown up girls, their partners, their sweet children-
My husband and then me, it needs no saying.

And when the bounds of earth have disappeared,
We are all One.
Our families, one family, bound in Love,
Shall unite with Him who binds us all anew.