A ROSE BY ANY OTHER NAME...

On May 17th of this year, the daughter of two dear friends gave birth to a beautiful baby girl. The infant has long, perfectly-formed fingers that curl up tightly into tiny clenching then un-clenching fists which will latch firmly onto an adults hand if offered. I am left to wonder how many years it will be until that lovingly offered grasp is no longer needed.

Now that our son and his wife are expecting their first child in January, the words to a couple of songs I had written are locked firmly in my noggin and they need to be released before too much cranial pressure builds up. The first tune is for the friends baby with the beautiful, beautiful name. The second song was written for a lovely wedding which took place nearly ten years ago...a wedding that will ultimately produce our first grandchild early in the new year.

LULLABY AVA ROSE

Lullaby Ava Rose
A full moon shines on the lake
And the waves gleam silver in the light,
Close your eyes, close your eyes
As you listen to the sounds
Of wild things who sing in the night.

A lonesome loon calls, For he misses his mate
As she sleeps in her nest in the reeds,
Oh he'll bring back a dinner
Of fishies and frogs
Lullaby Ava Rose, Lullaby...

Gently rock on the water, Oh the boats they do call
And green grass caresses the sand-
Lullaby Ava Rose, Lullaby Ava Rose
God holds you, in the palm of his hand-

And the wind softly whispers, The sound of your name
As we rock in the old wooden chair,
Close your eyes, close your eyes
Time to sleep little one...
Lullaby Ava Rose, Lullaby,
Close your eyes, close your eyes
Time to sleep little one...
Lullaby Ava Rose, Lullaby.

And if I open up my soul, I can still feel the trust, softness and innocence of our own two children cuddled up in my lap, loving nothing better than the beginning of a good story book.

I CAN'T IMAGINE...

Was it so long ago, I read stories to you
In my soft-backed chair?
And was it yesterday, I watched you play "Tag"
On a summer's eve?
You've grown so
I don't know...
Can't imagine where the years have gone,
The years have gone.

A baby girl, with your big brown eyes
Your daddy loves you so,
Across the miles, momma calls to you
"Baby come back home!"
Can't now Mom,
I'm grown now
And I've found a love forever of my own.

Spread your wings, it's time to fly away,
We bless your lives on this, your wedding day
In our hearts you're always here,
Through the good times
And the tears-
Two one time "kids"
Now a family of their own

Mmm, a rockin chair
On the big front porch,
A glass of lemonade-
Grandma and I, cast our memories back
Into the evening shade,
It's gone so fast, I don't know...
Someday you'll wonder where
The years have gone,
The years have gone.

Grandma and I just got off the phone with the new parents to be. The "kids" got to hear the baby's heart beat and see a picture of what a child looks like at the tender age of ten-weeks so they are totally excited. No one is as excited as my lovely wife however. She has huge plans for he/she.

Grandpa prays for a healthy delivery, a cool baby name so he can write more songs and finally that time slows down just a bit because the years truly have gone by in the blink of an eye. There, my head is empty now (more so than usual). Blog to ya later and thanks again for reading!