photo credit: Cristian Escobar (unsplash.com)

My Grandma Haynes, she sure loved a party.

For her, that meant a time surrounded by family and friends.

At Christmas, it included buying all the grandkids a gift or two

And wrapping them in the newspaper funnies.

At Thanksgiving, it meant making her dressing.

The best I’d ever tasted (until I found out the secret ingredient was oysters),

After that, I turned my focus to her butterscotch pie,

Super tasty and a tried-and-true recipe I trusted.

Part of me suspects her favorite party of all might have 

Been the one on Independence Day.

A farmer’s wife, a small business owner, a small town girl

Celebrating everything that life in America meant to her.

She’d give a few grandkids a bunch of money,

For Fourth of July needed a grand display of fireworks.

The real party started after dark -

Every grandkid remembers it the same way.

Grandma would light up her sparkler,

She’d do a sort of jig - whether seated or standing up.

If you ask any one of us what we remember

About the times our family gathered for Independence Day,

We won’t tell you these words,

We’ll sing them - like Grandma did every year, sparkler in hand.

Hey, hey good Lookin’

What you got cookin’

How’s about cookin’ something up with me.

For Hank was always invited to our family parties too.