Family

© By Kathy Armijo

First-born, I brought great joy

Then the rest started coming, five girls, now

They kept hoping for a boy

The youngest of the five girls

Dad said she’d fit in a shoe box

So, I fixed a box with lots of frills

I was six years old

What did I know?

Sure didn’t want her getting cold

She didn’t fit

She was bigger than a shoebox

I felt like such a dit!

Finally, there was a son

Dad was a proud “Pappa”

But, Dad’s time was almost done

Never held his second boy

Saw him from heaven, though

You know he felt great joy

We were a tribe of seven

Mom remarried

Then, another wonderful sister. 

Eight of us children at home

Add three stepsisters on their own

Eleven in all.  Getting together – such a happy drone!

Now, we are grown, with families of our own

Don’t see one another as often as we’d like

But, FAMILY defines who we are and our roots