Thankful For

Thankful

Air conditioning
Long sofas
Long car rides that take you out of state,
Fall leaves that linger
when others have fluttered to the ground
and turned brown

Little girls bows,
toes,
blue colored bottles,
a week off from school,
just thinking about retirement,
and being able to choose when
and shoes

Thankful for memories of
A boy who won my heart,
that hid under white rattan tables
or in a clothes basket for a nap
or play in a sand box for hours
or dress in cameoflage, now
jumping like a gazelle
over fences
and tight spots
Sons

Thinking about a
Bright daughter Rose with a heart of gold,
in blue jeans and a red top
punching an old atari,
climbing trees,
or painting with Abuelito Tito or
lying on the ground with sister, brother, and me
spotting the stars,
looking at the Christmas lights
or dreaming of horses and galleons in the clouds, or
listening to the thunder and rain, or watching little riverlets
stream down the hill
It was always adventure with you


Then daughter Ana
Sitting on a kitchen counter
telling me about her day
writing an essay
Cuddled up in a book, or planning a trip
to the Library and coming out with piles of books on their arms
dreaming of clouds, Monet,
her own apartment, her room,
trying beans across the street and liking them,
and flying away to spread her wings
and live her dreams.

How time flys
and the wheels keep turning
the years spin by you,
You are in the center and you don't
notice that everything is turning
your dark hair is silver
your hands are no longer quite as
smooth, your hearing not as sharp
but your heart
it still feels and remembers
the giggles, the laughter,
the lullabyes, the diapers,
and we remember.

I am thankful.
I am thankful.

For having made memories.