Being a Grandparent

Explaining grandkids to your friends

Who have none is, I find,

Like trying to describe chartreuse

To someone who is blind.

 

For your grandkids bring out feelings

That nobody else can match,

Laying bare an itch you never knew

You had, but now can scratch.

 

As a parent, you experience

The fiercest love and pride

Intertwined with the anxiety

That childhood does provide.

 

Though when one becomes a nana

(Or whatever term you pick),

All you’ve learned plus new beginnings

Come together with a click.

 

There’s a closeness through your child

But a paramount remove,

So you have a chance to bond and kvell*

With nothing left to prove.

 

Yet before I had my grandkids,

I would surely have dismissed

Ever needing them, but now I know

The joy I would have missed.

 

*to beam with pride and joy

Pull-Out Couches

Our apartment has one bedroom

And 900 feet of space,

But that is where our festive meal,

This year, was taking place.

 

As we cleaned and cooked, preparing

For the dinner and before,

We knew there would be a special treat

For all of us in store.

 

Both our grandkids would stay over

When our son and wife would leave,

Sharing sleep space on the sofa,

Not too crazy to believe.

 

While our daughter, too, would join us

On another pull-out couch,

All attesting to their comfort

To which each of them would vouch.

 

With one bathroom, we all managed;

We had fun and no one griped.

It was wonderful, for sure,

But now they’re home and I am wiped!

Pre-Seder Afternoon

The holiday’s at sunset 

So the afternoon before

Is time for eating food

We won’t be eating anymore.

No bread or beer or pasta -

Not a bagel for a week!

I’ve been doing this since childhood,

So there‘ll be no need to sneak.

It’s bizarre - I’m not religious

But tradition reigns supreme

And restricting what you eat is not

As hard as it might seem.

Of course, we use some substitutes 

For cooking and to bake

And there are lots of recipes 

For foods that we can make.

Tonight there will be matzoh balls

In soup to start our feast, 

With 8 more days of special meals,

Until we are released.

Etching the Day

I love a room that overlooks

A river or the sea 

For, on a terrace with some books

Is where I like to be.

A sunny seat, a view with boats

And birdsong in the air,

A husband who, who upon me, dotes -

Why, nothing can compare!

A mid-day ice cream, browsing stores,

A walk along the shore,

A bowl of mussels, Guinness pours -

Well, who could ask for more?

But all good things must end, they say,

So now we’re heading home

And on my way I’ve etched the day

Into my daily poem.

Birthday Gal

You plan a day and never know

Exactly how that day will go

For glitches happen, even though 

You’ve done your very best.

Yet when all aspects seem to flow

And happy moments start to grow,

Your spirits soar snd and make you glow,

In every way expressed.

A view more lovely than Van Gogh

And non-stop wishes all bestow 

On me, the birthday gal, a show 

Of joy that’s unsuppressed.

Birth and Death

My parents never lived to be

The age that I am now.

My father’s heart and mother’s brain

Ran out of steam somehow.

They never knew their grandkids

Nor the greats who’ve come along,

Which couldn’t have been helped and yet

Seems sad and even wrong.

My mother’s Yahrzeit’s* coming up;

My birthday is as well,

A fact that brings me yearly 

To where I don’t like to dwell.

*a Jewish day of remembering a deceased loved one

which includes lighting a special candle

April Fools' Day

Today’s a time for breaking rules

And telling jokes and playing pranks,

Since it’s the day of April Fools;

For warning you, I need no thanks.

 

Just be aware of what you hear

Or what you see or even read.

On April Fools’ the atmosphere

May swirl around with smiles we need.

 

The weather even seems confused –

First rain, then sun and later, storms,

With Mother Nature quite amused

As coats are shed from wind that warms.

 

Right now I’m soaking up the sun;

My calendar is newly flipped.

For what takes place ‘til day is done,

I think I’m fairly well-equipped.