11.13.2009

A Grandmother's Christmas Lament

I recently found this in a book of poems I have:

Can you feel the angst of the grandmother?


“Oh what to do?” the grandmother cried.
It isn't as though I haven't tried..
One year I shopped for hours on end,
Looking for clothes of the latest trend.
The children looked at them with disgust.
While the mothers sneered, “Thank her you must!”

One year I went from store to store
Looking for fun toys that wouldn't bore!
But it wasn't just what they had in mind
So they searched neath the tree for a suitable present to find.

To buy what they want; the next year I gave them all money.
“A cop out!” the mom whispered. “I don't find it funny.
“That's no fun to find under the tree,”
She whispered while looking straight at me.

I've a limited budget, and I really do try
But I can't seem to please them, so I'm let to ask......why
Do I bother, what should I do?
The blame lies on me, certainly not them, not you!

This year I'm worn out and totally dismayed -
Broken-hearted, discouraged
at the children I raised!

1 comment:

Lauralee said...

Such a cute poem. And do true!

All us grandmothers have the same problem, however I solved it early. I wrote to each of my children and grandchildren and said in order for them to get a present from me they had to provide a list of their hopes and dreams by November 1st.

If no list arrived, they were at Grandma's mercy. It worked. Now I get lists accompanied by pictures and arrows and notes in the margin. It saved me a ton of headaches.

(BTW, it is my brother who goes to Ghana, not my cousin.)

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