Grandma’s Gifts By Pamela Vecchi Hoose

July 2010

That applesauce cookies made life good,
Was something Grandma understood.
The comfort of her homemade treat
Was happiness to sit and eat.
Her hugs and smiles were ready proof
That love lived there, beneath her roof.
The many words I chose to share
Were listened to with patient care.
Gram’s wisdom is, still, often used,
Although, we thought it, once, confused.
Yet, as we age, her little verse,
“It was better when it was worse,”
Makes perfect sense, as she well knew.
Yes, now, we understand it too!
Approval was her stock and trade.
She never let me feel I made
Mistakes, although, I’m sure I did.
Who doesn’t when one’s just a “kid”?
But, I was never “just” to Gram –
“Pamelayta,” seldom “Pam.”
I always knew, right from the start,
I owned a piece of my Gram’s heart.
Yet, this I know, with certainty,
Her heart was shared with more than me.
Yes, Grandma’s heart is here today.
That part of her will always stay
Wherever “Vecchi’s” meet, convene,
Dear Grandma is part of our scene.
So, look around, for Gram is here.
She’s never far. She’s always near
To those she loved, housed in her heart,
Where all of us each had our start.
So, no, there were no shiny bows.
Her gifts did not require those.
Each gift she gave, she gave for life.
In times of joy, or, times of strife,
That which she gave is part of me.
No better gifts can ever be.