counting for nearly
a century
she remembers
days when
duty called
and expectant
mama answered
but quit
the collecting
for others
and fed the
mouths given.
‘necessity the
mother of invention’
lived long
and creative
spun life
for ten
wee ones
mouthing Swedish
prayers all
through the
darkened days
now lives
in legacy this
one of
fourty-four
who raises
generation coming
in hundreds
amidst multitudes
of witnesses
called blessings.
AWA 11/28/2010
Written for One Shoot Sunday @ One Stop Poetry
This poem reflects the life of my Swedish Grandmother (Mor Mor) now ninety-seven. She and my Pop Pop met while he was an officer in the Salvation Army. They served for a number of years and lived in very difficult situations with two young children and when she was cold with two wee ones and expecting a third ‘ringing the bell’ decided they couldn’t continue this work and raise a family. So my Pop Pop worked from the ground up in a company and they raised ten children during the Great Depression and beyond in Connecticut and later Pennsylvania. They gave thirty percent of their income to the church and various ministries including the Salvation Army…always the “first fruits”. “Necessity is the mother of invention” was her favorite saying and she lived it—still does any chance she gets!
I am one of forty-four grandchildren and my daughter is the 105th great- grandchild. This list will keep being added to for at least a few more years.
My grandparents believed in raising a large family to love God and their world. We are by no stretch of the imagination perfect, but the majority of us do live out this legacy and are committed to it.
