GRANDMA CLIMBED THE FAMILY TREE

There's been a change in Grandma, we've noticed as of late,
She's always reading history, or jotting down some date.
She's tracing back the family, we'll all have pedigrees,
Grandma's got a hobby, she's Climbing Family Trees....

Poor Grandpa does the cooking, and now, or so he states
He even has to wash the cups and the dinner plates.
Well, Grandma can't be bothered, she's busy as a bee-
Compiling genealogy for the Family Tree.

She has no time to baby-sit, the curtains are a fright-
No buttons left on Grandpa's shirts, the flower bed's a sight-
She's given up her club work, the serials on TV;
The only thing she does nowadays is climb that Family Tree.

The mail is all for Grandma, it comes from near and far-
Last week she got the proof she needs to join the DAR.
A monumental project - on that we all agree,
A worthwhile avocation - to climb the Family Tree.

She wanders through the graveyard in search of date and name-
The rich, the poor, the in-between, all sleeping there the same.
She pauses now and then to rest, fanned by a gentle breeze
That blows above from the Father of all our Family Trees.

Now some folks came from Scotland, some from Galway Bay-
Some were French as pastry, some German all the way.
Some went West to stake their claims, some stayed there by the sea,
Grandma hopes to find them all as she climbs the Family Tree.

There were pioneers and patriots mixed with our kith and kin-
Who blazed the paths through wilderness and fought through thick and thin.
But none more staunch than Grandma - whose eyes light up with glee
Each time she finds a missing branch for that Family Tree.

Their skills were wide and varied from carpenter to cook-
And one -alas- the records show, was hopelessly a crook.
Blacksmith, farmer, weaver, judge, - some tutored for a fee,
Once lost in time, now all recorded on the Family Tree.

To some it's just a hobby, to Grandma it's much more -
She learns the joys and heartaches of those who went before.
They loved, they lost, they laughed, they wept - and now for you and me
They live again in spirit around the Family Tree.

At last she's nearly finished, and each of us are exposed -
Life will be the same again - this we all suppose.
Grandma will cook and sew, serve crullers with our tea,
We'll have her back, just as before that wretched Family Tree.

Sad to relate, the Preacher called and visited for a spell -
We talked about the Gospel and other things as well.
The heathen folk, the poor, and then--'twas fate it had to be
Somehow the conversation turned to Grandma - and the Family Tree.

We tried to change the subject we talked of everything-
But then in Grandma's voice we heard that old familiar ring.
She told him all about the past, and soon 'twas plain to see
The preacher, too, was neatly snared by Grandma and the Family Tree.

He never knew his Granddad, his mother's name was --- Clark?
He and Grandma talked and talked, while outside it grew quite dark.
We'd hoped our fears were groundless, but just like some disease, Grandma's
become an addict - she's hooked on Family Trees.

Our spirits filled with sorrow, our hearts sank with dismay,
Our ears could scarcely believe the words we heard our Grandma say,
"It surely is a lucky thing that you have come to me,
I know exactly how it's done, I'll climb your Family Tree!"

....Author Unknown