Today Would Be Your Birthday...(or, Treasured Legacy)

For today's prompt, write a living poem. Today and every day  is ourlifelong legacy in the making!Let's make it treasure-able💝 This poem is about a Treasured Legacy I inheritedsimply by being her granddaughter!! Both of my gramma's birthdays were in April,one on the 3rd, and one on the 13th!(I hope a kind cousin or sibling corrects me if I got the dates confused...) Today would be your birthday... Caught by surprise... I think if we would line up the stitches she sewed in her lifetimethey would reach to heaven and backSo many quilts and comforters for family and charity.After her family was grown, so much mendingfor her daughters and daughter-in-laws!Her hands, when she was feeling well, were never idle! My last 'family picture' of my grandparents. She cared for our 'special Aunt' until she was no longer ableThen Special Aunt was welcomed into the homes of her siblings. Today, would be your birthdayDear Gramma, your legacyIs the most treasured hand-me-downThat you have left for meLife wasn’t always easyYet, your faithful un-complaintOften made me wonder if youWere a gram-disguised saintHumble, frugal and generousYou treasured each grandchild (all forty-something of us!!)And always made each one of usFeel special when you smiled Your sparkling eyes and helping handsAnd wisdom-seasoned speechInstilled within your precious ‘grands’Sound truths for us to teachWhere now by time’s fleet sleight of handI am a gramma tooTrying to emulate the love--liness I learned from youTrying to hand down memoriesThat, by God’s grace will beIn the heart of every grandchildA treasured legacy © Janet Martin A few more Gramma mementos... Waste not, want notShe saidas she shook the crumbsfrom the bottom of a bread bagfor the birdsor her next casseroleplacing the bag in a drawer for re-useas she brought someone a freshly baked treat Waste not, want notShe saidas she saved the yarn endsto hang in treesso the birds can have some colorin their nests too Waste not, want not…and rags were cut into stripssewn togetherand braided for mats (see picture above)fabric scraps became comforters and quiltsfor the needy…or here and there perhaps a stuffed toyPie dough left-overs were scrapedfrom the counter-top andput in a dish in the fridgefor next timeand seeds were collected from her gardenfor next yearand empty spools were savedfor crafts and creations (see pictures above)and she would tell me of their weddingduring the depression yearsand how they had to choosebetween either turnips or potatoesfor their mealand how her aunt took a cherished vaseout of her china cupboardand gave it to heras a wedding giftbecause there was no moneyand then she would often repeat‘He who does not value a pennydoes not deserve a dollar’She never heardReduce, reuse, and recycleBut she reminded me constantlyThat no generation is immuneTo hard times or wantAs the root cellar was filled withPreserves from her garden I am glad to have knownThis part of herAs I attempt to pass some of Grandma onTo the next generationIn waste not, want not © Janet Martin I am privileged to be living  in the house that belonged to one of the most beautiful people I ever knew; my Grandma. And then, a new song uploaded today by two artists I LOVE,fitting perfectly with today's prompt