Carry On

Family Traditions

Family traditions are a compelling force,
They make you feel that you don’t have a choice,
To carry on is the way it should be,
They are important, so listen to me,
If you don’t have any, then start one of your own,
It is a seed planted and never harvested, only grown,
Our annual camping trip to Cades Cove,
Has become a tradition of our family, so we drove,
Last week to the same site we had seen for the past 30 years,
Nothing has changed too much there, but we shed a few tears,
Because the family has changed, we are missing our dear Dad,
His ashes are there so we are reminded of what we had,
But then again, the next generation is experiencing our joy,
We took along our grandson, a young boy, almost four,
To see him experience the things we have known for so long,
Was refreshingly beautiful, and righted the wrong,
The tradition was passing from one generation to the next,
It was the circle of life, demonstrated at its best,
We show our children the nature we cherish,
And hopefully the love of it will live on in them and never perish,
Seasons come and go,
But we will always know:
The peacefulness that is there in the mountains,
The brightly colored leaves, and streams flowing like fountains,
The wildlife: the deer, wild turkey and Black bear,
The cool, crisp mountain air!
Carry on, Carry on,
Little one.

Tammy Harvey 

written: 10/27/2020