Saturday, July 18, 2015

Taking a Trip Down Memory Lane


I'm taking a trip down memory lane
To the girl I used to be
Back in my high school days
When I was so young and free


If you remember me from back in the day
This is the girl you knew
Forty years have flown right by
And I probably don't remember you


Lots has happened to me since then
Some was good and some bad
I'm no longer that crazy wild teen
Who got in trouble from Mom and Dad 


I married once after school was done
I moved away, far from home
Left Mom and Dad and siblings behind
To Virginia I did roam


I raised three kids, the lights of my life
Of them I'm so very proud
Hang out with me for more than a few
And you'll hear me bragging about them loud


I've since divorced and married again
You'll soon meet my husband Kenny
When I married him 15 years ago
Two more children made five - more than plenty

  
Mom and Dad have left us now
It's been a difficult year
My mother-in-law followed them home
So sometimes it's hard to be filled with cheer


Our kids have grown and have kids of their own
Our three grandkids are the greatest gift of all
I'm now the family midget
Our kids have all grown so tall


Our three youngest kids made us so proud
As college grads they became
All graduating the same year
Working their way to fortune and fame


As we start the day and head down the road
We'll soon be back in town
No more science and math, just hanging with friends
From 1975 - the best LHS class around

Sandy Atkins Bottoms-Wallace
LHS Class of 1975

Saturday, July 4, 2015

Happy Birthday to America!


Happy 239th Birthday to America!
Long may our flag wave
A symbol of our freedom
Won by the blood of those who served


The price of freedom can be seen 
At Arlington National Cemetery


Row upon row of graves 
Marked with the names of heroes


Where the Old Guard honors the memory of the Unknowns


The price of freedom is seen in the faces of children
Whose parents paid the ultimate sacrifice
The cost of our freedom


 We are free to fly the flag of freedom
Free to march or ride in parades


Free to set off fireworks 
Even in our own back yards


Free to host a cookout
Free to spend time with family and friends


Free to enjoy a baseball game
And stay for the fireworks show that follows


The flag we wear on our chest
Or painted on our face


The flag of freedom
Carried by generations of heroes
As they marched off to war
Far from home and family


Freedom is not free
Our heroes know the cost



The cost of freedom
Paid by their blood and sacrifice


The brave men and women who served in Korea
More than nameless faces etched on a wall


The debt for our freedom
Can never be repaid


As we celebrate freedom
In our own special way


We sing patriotic songs
And gather with our friends


Teach our children to honor this country
And to always let freedom ring


The price of freedom can be seen
In the faces of our veterans
In the scars they carry
And the memories they can't escape


As battle raged all around
They cared for each another 
Like the brothers they became
Leaving no man behind


Never forgetting those who didn't come home


Names written on scores of dog tags


Names etched in the memories of their brothers
And forever remembered on memorial walls 


They gave us the land of the free
By their sacrifices and bravery


Leaving behind those they loved
All in the name of freedom


So line the streets and celebrate freedom
From sea to shining sea
With voices raised and flags waving
Celebrating freedom for you and me!