Happy
Golden Anniversary
Mom & Dad
April 11, 1959-2003
50
Golden Years
Happy
50 Golden Years
Your love
has stayed so true
You’ve
many memories to cherish
And
here are just a few …
It’s
obvious from the old photographs
That
you had some wild nights,
There
were parties, dances and costumed affairs,
You
had fun and you did it up right.
When
you wed you were two young kids
Starting
out on the road to life
And
look at you now these many years later
Still
a young man and his young wife.
You
built a house up on Gray Street
A
neighborhood full of families and fun.
You
gave birth to Kevin Howard
The
very first of your two sons.
Being
the first the albums are filled
With
photos of this favorite lad.
Little
baby in striped pjs
And
Emmett Kelly hat on his head.
And
then just a short time later,
Along
came your second little boy.
More
important, he was your favorite, again
Kent
Thomas, a bundle of joy.
The
albums were not as filled with him
But
the reason was easy to see.
For
two little boys took much more time,
More
patience and hands not free.
You
had so many happy times
Playing
with them and watching them grow.
And
soon your two boys were young men
And
two kids became three, don’t you know.
For
along came your favorite baby girl.
Keri Marie
was this lassie's name.
Her
world was made up of dresses and tap shoes,
Disney
and color crayons.
Life
was now camping in tents and in trailers,
Tubing
down the Kinnickinnic.
Snowmobiling
and fishing at the cabin up north,
Playing
games and laughing til sick.
We
fondly remember scraping gum from the floor of the Elks
Having
beer nuts and pop
With the
sounds of “Standing on the corner, watching all the girls”
Blaring
from the old jukebox.
We
fondly remember snow sculptures in the yard
Whales,
cartoon characters and the like.
The
hours you spent doing our Halloween makeup
And
refurbishing my hand-me-down bike.
We
fondly remember the backyard rinks
That
you carefully built and poured.
Whiffle
ball games with the neighborhood kids
Hey
brothers, were we ever bored?
We
fondly remember the family trips to the Dells
The
North Shore and out West.
Even
when some of us had to stay home
With
Grandma ‘cuz that was best.
Favorite
meals for our birthdays and parties and friends
I
guess what I’m trying to say
Is
that while this is about your past 50 years
It’s
to us that you gave love away.
You
built two more homes, you retired from work,
You
formed your Computer Club.
You
have a lot of fun with these friends,
Sharing
laughter and hope and love.
You’ve
broken some bones. You’ve bypassed a heart,
And
you’ve lost some dear loved ones, too.
You’ve
made and you’ve kept many life-long friends,
Not
just golden ones, but True Blue.
And
what of us kids? Well, we all grew up.
But you got each of us back home for a while.
You
never complained about our returns.
They
were handled with your usual smiles.
We
each gave you grandkids to spoil and love
And
spoil and love them you did
You
spent time as snowbirds but that stole time from family
So
you returned to your duty: your kids.
Does
a day go by that you don’t do a job
Or
a favor for somebody else?
Is
that the secret that keeps you so young
And
so vibrant and so full of health?
So
here you are 50 years later
Your
love has come such a long way.
You’ve
raised your three children and you’ve helped with theirs too.
Now relax and enjoy your big day.
Keri Mar
April
11, 2003
Happy
Anniversary Mom & Dad.
May
the gifts that you have bestowed upon so many during the last
50
years return to you today and everyday because you are richly deserving.
