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Grandma 85

She sits across the table 
from the best hand she has ever been dealt 
Her four Aces,  
The greatest joy of her life
Her most favoured and loved children

She has not always been dealt the best hands
Her early years on a farm in Alberta
with her brother and two sisters 
Those were hard years
They didn't have much
but they shared what they had
They made do
They learned the value of hard work

She left the farm just barely a girl
At a time when women didn't go it alone
Vancouver was her starting point
A promised life of husband and children,
brought her back to Alberta
There, she the self taught seamstress,
stitched the bits of their lives together
Year after year sewing
grad dresses, bridesmaid and wedding dresses
Curtains for windows and bed spreads

More importantly
She stitched values into the fabric of their being
"Work hard"
"Respect other people's time"
"Above all be direct and honest"
"You can do and be whoever you want to be"
At times they may have seen her as a disciplinarian 
but she did not wish to squander her perfect hand,
these precious ones she was entrusted with
Yet she also brought the joy of laughter
She danced with abandon
Her's is a life well lived
Filled with love and accomplishments
Designing for others and for them
Rooms that captured the essence of her
Meticulously placed artistry
Carefully planned 
Balanced budgets 
She grasped her own dreams
Now her success spills over into her children's lives

She looks on with pride 
Sees how far they have come
Her tears and worrying
The years of laughter and smiles
Ten beautiful grandchildren and four great grandchildren
They affectionately nick name her Grandma 85
These generations share in her softer side
She can be proud of a job well done
Her children are capable of taking on heavy lifting
For she has equipped them well
To this day mom is still up for almost anything
She is and always has been the adventurer
Still her priority has been and still is, them
Being there in times of need
Although not one to coddle 
Yes, she has allowed them to fail at times
They needed to make their own mistakes
For she knew in the end
it would make them stronger
So today she celebrates
Sits with organized cards in her hand
lays them all down on the table
Laughs and says
"Pay up"
After all she has always been
A no nonsense kinda gal!


I wrote this for a dear friend's mother's birthday.
Thanks to her sisters and brother and her,
for providing the building blocks for this piece. 
The nickname "Grandma 85" was given as a result 
of a card game they dubbed with the same name. 
She sounds like an amazing woman and 
I can tell she is greatly loved by her family.
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