Mom, do you remember
the Christmas of thirty-six?
I got a gun and
holster set so I could play Tom Mix.
And the very next
year, I'm sure it was, when Christmas came around,
I got a bat, a
ball, and glove, the proudest boy in town!
In 'thirty-eight,
a ping pong set, and it wasn't very long
'Til I was undisputed
champ of all who played ping pong.
I got a bike in
'thirty-nine, the only one I ever had;
No matter how hard
the times, you always managed, you and Dad.
Then came the time
in 'forty-two, when I had to go away,
To do my part to
win a war, no time for Christmas Day.
A homesick boy
in Navy blues stared at the barracks wall,
And longed for
home at Christmas, and family most of all.
Then came the call,
the one call, that sailors love to hear,
Mail call was the
call I heard and the sound meant Christmas cheer.
A package, large
and gaily wrapped, was handed back to me,
I read the tag,
"From Mom and Dad", though I could scarcely see.
Down through the
years, you taught me that Christmas is for giving,
And I learned from
you love must abide or there is no joy in living,
And, Mom, I've
taught my children and my grandchildren, too,
The greatest gift
that they can give is love the whole year through. |
