We Just Didn’t Know- A Poem by david Ritter

We Just Didn’t Know

On Sundays at Grandma’s, her house filled up fast,
We never once wondered how long it would last.
With family next door and across the street,
The life I was living felt happy, complete.

The children ran laughing from yard into yard,
And being together did not seem so hard.
We gathered for cookouts and birthdays each year,
And went to church Sundays with those we held dear.

Grandma would cook, and we’d each find a place,
Then bow heads together while someone said grace.
The Lions or Tigers would play on TV,
While Papa cheered on, happy as could be.

We thought there’d be thousands of Sundays to share,
And took it for granted we’d all still be there.
There wasn’t much reason to watch any clock;
Our whole little world was right there on that block.

But children grew older and had kids of their own,
Then Papa passed on, leaving Grandma alone.
Some drifted from church, and some drifted apart,
But I still hold those Sundays close to my heart.

The years brought us changes we had never planned.
The houses came down, but the memories still stand.
Some changes came slowly; some came overnight,
Till our Sundays together had faded from sight.

Now I’d give anything for one Sunday more,
To walk to their house and step through the front door.
I’d pull up a chair and just stay for a while,
To hear every voice and to see every smile.

We thought we were living an ordinary day,
Eating and laughing the hours away.
Those Sundays held riches no money could show,
And all of us had them. We just didn’t know.

— David Ritter