Growing Up With Grandma

I don't know when it happened.
I don't know when she came,
But, she's the one I always knew,
Grandma was her name.

She taught me how to tie my shoes.
She taught me how to talk.
And, though I can't remember,
I think she taught me how to walk.

When all the other kids in school
Would talk about Mom and Dad,
I wondered where my parents were,
That made me kinda’ sad.

And, sometimes there were days I'd cry
Or hide my head in shame.
But Grandma took it all in stride,
And loved me all the same.

She'd wrap her arms around me,
And kiss me on the head.
She'd tell me that she loved me
When she tucked me into bed.

Being a teen, I remember the days
When being with friends was more fun.
And I wondered what it would have been like
To actually be someone's son.

To have a regular family
Some siblings, a mom, and a dad,
What had I done to deserve less than others?
Sometimes I felt so mad.

'It's alright, it's okay,' Grandma would say,
'One day you'll understand why,
Life just isn't fair to everyone you see.
It's always okay to cry.'

And when I went off to college,
I met the love of my life.
It was Grandma who was the first I told
That I planned to make her my wife.

Soon after I'd become a father,
For that I could hardly wait.
To have a child of my very own,
And, to make my Grandma a 'Great'.

A little girl to share her name,
For all that she'd given me.
So much I owed to Grandma,
That was plain to see.

As time passed and life grew short
I hoped my Grandma knew
That it was her love and her support
That always got me through.

If I could tell her one more thing
'Thanks Grandma', is what I 'd say
For loving me and making me,
The man I am today.

November 6, 2004