A tribute to mom!

What my momma said!
(written by Lorraine Brown, copyright 2006)

Pretty is as pretty does is what she always said,
Don’t ignore me - listen to me,
One day you’ll be glad you did.

What’s inside your heart is what will shine right through your eyes;
If it’s truth you tell I’ll know it, but I’ll also know if it’s a lie.
So keep in mind that though you may have secrets to keep,
What’s inside can’t always hide no matter how dark or deep.

Pretty’s on the inside, darlin’ - it’s where it all begins…
Not lipstick or a pretty dress; not sparkles or sequins.
Your future lies in choices - it all depends on you;
You can choose what’s right or do what‘s wrong;
The consequence you can’t un-do.

Pretty is as pretty does is what she always said…
Don’t ignore me - listen to me,
One day you’ll be glad you did.

If beauty lives within your heart, then beauty we will see;
And attitudes and actions show the world what lies beneath;
If beauty lives within your heart, then beauty will shine bright;
The smile from a pretty heart changes darkness into light.

It’s what you do and what you say;
It’s how you laugh and how you play;
It’s how you live, and how you love;
It’s how you treat the world today.

Pretty is as pretty does is what she always said,
I didn’t know how glad I’d be that I listened to her then,
And even though her voice is just a memory in my mind;
It speaks so clearly to me still; so soft and sweet and kind.
And every day she showed me just what pretty does;
‘Cuz pretty is as pretty does is what SHE always was!
Yes pretty is as pretty does is what my momma was!!!

~  ~  ~  ~  ~  ~ ~  ~  ~  ~

A LONG HARD YEAR
written by Lorraine Brown -Collection One/ copyright 2005)

It's been a long, hard year -
When she thinks about what’s happened,
It’s so hard not to cry,
Momma in a nursing home,
Daddy passed away – he said he wanted to die.

She’d go home to visit -
She thinks about those times,
She and momma stayed up talking late into the night,
She knew that she could count on her to tell her what was right.

She remembers daddy -
Working around the house, so strong and full of pep,
The youth on both their faces,
The spring in both their steps.

Then the road took a different turn,
And momma lost her voice,
The stroke left her speechless,
She didn’t have a choice.

Daddy lost his will to live,
When momma fell apart,
His strength turned into weakness,
He died of a broken heart.

A long drive home and she’s half way there,
Before she realized,
That she’d been crying this whole time,
She wipes the tears from her eyes.

A year now since daddy died,
The grieving just takes time,
No words are left,
But none are needed,
All was said in time.

Now her visits with her momma
Are quiet in that place,
Yet momma smiles and claps her hands,
When she sees her baby’s face.

Even though momma’s words are gone,
They live on in her baby’s heart,
They’ll remain with her forever,
She and momma will never part.

Yes, momma smiles and claps her hands
When she see’s her baby’s face,
These special little moments cannot be replaced,
Deep inside she understands that she and mamma will never part,
Momma, can you hear me?  I love you with all my heart!

(Dedicated to my loving mother Anne who went home to be with the Lord on Christmas Eve, 2006)