I’m not sure how many Christmas poems I have written.  All the ones I have been able to find have been posted now on Ricequips.com.  This is number 20.  The first one I could find was 1989.

Anyway, I wish I would have taken a look at last years title before I titled this one.  Last year was entitled, “Christmas in Transition – 2007.”  This year, it is entitled, “Year of Transition – 2008.”  Now, there is a clear distinction between the two, but I am afraid it is too subtle for most of my friends.

To all who read this, I wish you a very Merry Christmas.


                            Year of Transition – 2008

The pace is easier, deadlines are few,
Jack’s fully retired, now there’s your clue.
Being home everyday makes an adjustment crunch,
Carole married him for love, but not for lunch.

January brought surgery on Carole’s bad knees,
Partial replacements on both if you please.
Carole suffered a plenty, but for Jack it was worse,
He slipped from a hot shot attorney to a practical nurse.
With the arthritis gone and physical therapy complete,
Carole buzzes around and doesn’t miss a beat.

RAJA in May, in Atlanta downtown,
Seeing dear friends, never a frown.
Saw the Coke Museum, saw Olympic Park,
Put a blog on Ricequips, it really was a lark.

We toured California, a long time “want to do,”
We started in Frisco, ended at San Diego’s Zoo.
From Golden Gate to Yosemite, Hearst Castle to Monterey pier,
Scary fog at Big Sur, but LA was bright and clear.

June was a disaster, we flooded the house,
A water hose busted, it’s no use to grouse.
Gone for three hours and the damage was done,
Hard wood and ceilings, you talk about fun.
But with our contractor Steve, and a month in jail,
The house came together, we survived the travail.

We count among our blessings, our Moms who bring us glee,
Blanche is ninety-one and Mary is ninety-three!
They won’t win any races, the years have taken their toll,
But their minds are really sharp, and the humor, yes, it’s droll.

The kids are all busy with their lives and stuff,
The problem we have is we don’t see them enough.
Paul and Sandy are close, just four hours away,
We get to see them come a holiday.
Missy helped Carole, at the first of the year,
Now Missy is hurting, a truck hit them in the rear.
She continues to work and deals with the pain,
With doctor’s support, they’ll remove the strain.

Becky and Eddie are now empty nest,
The boys are in college, giving their best.
Grant and Brandon in college, soon there’ll be more,
With Tyler and Josh, next year there’ll be four.
That means Kristin and Jack will soon get a boost,
They’ll be the only kids home and they’ll rule the roost.

Nikki’s a year and a half, she’s a precious creature,
She minds remarkably well, she listens to her teacher.
So we’re letting her sign off, she’s doing in right now,
Merry Christmas to everyone and a special bow-wow.