"Quality time" is a fashionable term today That, I believe, is used redundantly To me, time spent with family and friends Should be often and abundantly Even in the fast-paced world of today Special moments should be part of our days Spent with and around the ones we love Time is fleeting and will soon pass away I remember going with Daddy to the movies And drinking a bottle of strawberry Nehi He would sit in the middle between Lena and me Those precious times seemed to just fly by Or when Mother sent us to Butler's for popsicles That we shared with the kids next door Licking off the juice that melted down our arms Each wishing that we had a couple more Going up to Thacker Hollow to see Grandpa Sitting there on the floor at his knee Totally immersed in the stories he told That still linger in my memory Trying on new shoes Daddy bought in Williamson With dresses, skirts and blouses Mother made While the boys got store-bought blue jeans Just before starting another school grade Sitting in the front porch swing at night Listening to Daddy strumming his old guitar We kids all singing and trying to harmonize And making wishes on shooting stars Holidays that were always spectacular to us Because Mother and Daddy worked so hard To give their family all they could afford Before the era of the good old charge card We children took all those times for granted And never thought of their being exceptional But what I know now that I didn't know then Is that all of those moments were special Kathleen McCoy Eldridge© September 20, 2007 All Rights Reserved




Memories Are Made Of This
1950s Juke Box

Artwork by Greg Olsen