You will be missed

A dozen white roses sit by my bed

A gift from my husband, I love you they said

For 69 years my grandma had that too

Maybe not in roses, but in something he’d do

The strength that she has I see in her face

She calls it stubborn, I call it Grace

For always they would stand as husband and wife

She as his rock, the love of his life

It’s in her face, every tear, every line

That I see the great things of this grandpa of mine

She stayed in the cold to stand by his side

To cheer and support when chariots he’d ride

She’d watch from the kitchen and knew all the tricks

She’d hand grandpa the scoop so he’d be ready for my ice cream fix

She’d sit by his side, a smile on her face

As grandpa would sing jingles, a bounce to keep pace

She’d stand on the porch as we played outside

Grandpa chasing me around, no place I could hide

In the back room where she always swept

His small brown boots often were kept

I’d try them on…would they fit me this week?

“We’ll they’re smaller than mine,” grandma would say tongue in cheek

Grandma grew rhubarb, he’d cut us a slice

Then roll us in barrels and tell us “play nice”

She’d call me Dolly as I walked in the door

And he’d sing about MeriAnn down by the shore

I got to shoot his special gun at big rocks after school

But not before she made her point, be careful was the rule

He’d make us rings from horseshoe nails and she make sure they fit

He’d take us for rides in the back of the truck, and she’d make sure we would sit

He’d bounce us around on the top of his knee from the kitchen she could see

He’d tell us we were special and hold us close, and often “de da la de”

She was always there a shoulder to cry when grandpa was teaching us to be tough

For some reason he thought with salt in a cut, it didn’t hurt as much

At family events he never would leave, too much that he would miss

A grandkid or two on each knee with a little song and a little kiss

Grandma would help him when telling his stories to get us all involved

She’d ask us questions and he’d make us laugh when the joke was solved

The family came first, no matter what, they’d rather give than take

From camping to cars to the last peach in the jar, the sacrifice they would make

The love that he had for all his girls was special you see

But the love he had for grandma, his wife, was a great example to me

I love you Grandpa, and Grandma you too

And I’m thankful for all of the things that you do

I’ll miss all the memories that he’ll add to your face

But we’ll see him again in another time, in another place

Four Generations of Taylor Women

Grace and her Mimi Art, Grace and I