“Where Love Still Lives”

Long before we knew their story,

Two young hearts found their way.

She was working at a restaurant,

He walked in and chose to stay.

Then came three kids and Annandale,

A home that filled with years,

Little feet ran through the hallways,

More laughter than there were tears.

Then their children gave them children,

And those children grew up too.

Every time we walked through Grandma’s door,

We knew that love was true.

That’s where love still lives,

Where Grandma’s arms are open wide,

Where Grandpa’s laugh can still be heard

When we close our eyes sometimes.

Fourteen grandkids, eighteen greats,

Every branch still growing strong.

Melvin may have gone to Heaven,

But his love was never gone.

Grandma, every time we gather,

That’s where love still lives.

Easter mornings, Christmas evenings,

Camping underneath the stars,

Sunday church and garden summers,

Those little things became our hearts.

Grandma watched us, fed us, loved us,

Made us feel like we belonged.

And Grandpa made the whole room laugh

Before we knew those days would be gone.

He’d pop those old fake teeth at us,

Make that crazy gobbling sound.

Even in that hospital bed,

He found a way to joke around.

They asked his name when he could speak,

He answered, “Shit Ass,” with a grin.

Because that’s what Grandma called him—

That was Marlene and Melvin.

That’s where love still lives,

In every story that we tell,

In a house that always felt like home

Because you loved us well.

Three children became generations,

And the roots are growing still.

You can lose the one beside you,

But you can’t lose what you built.

Marlene and Melvin showed us

Where love still lives.

I never got my last goodbye

When Grandpa left this life.

That’s something I have carried

Through more than one long night.

Then Grandma said, “He loved you.

He never thought less of you.”

Those words gave back a piece of him

I thought I’d forever lose.

Now when I ask how you’ve been,

You say, “Waiting to see Grandpa again.”

I know you miss your Melvin,

Your husband and your best friend.

And someday when Heaven calls you,

I know he’ll be waiting there,

With that old familiar smile

Like no time passed anywhere.

But Grandma, while you’re with us,

There’s something you should know:

You’re the heart of this whole family,

You’re still the place called home.

Kitty’s chasing rubber bands,

And generations love you still.

Grandpa’s waiting up in Heaven,

But down here, through all of us,

His love is living still.

In every laugh, in every kid,

In every memory that we give—

Marlene and Melvin, forever,

That’s where love still lives.