I Remember (a poem)

You’d always fall asleep
After a long Sunday
Resting up for the week
So you could be present with us
Rarely missed a game, came to all the ceremonies
You were always right there.

The week of Thanksgiving
When we’d beg you to let us
decorate for Christmas,
and you’d reluctantly say yes
knowing we’d bail an hour later,
But you always finished it for us
It made the holidays better.

I remember nightly meals.
I remember long car rides.
I remember hard laughs
and I remember tough fights.

Every small thing
That I miss now.
Your acts of kindness,
And the sound of your laughter.
Things I don’t hear daily anymore.
When you’re young you take it for granted,
Having your parents right there,
But now that I’m grown,
I really miss home,
And I wish I remembered it better.