I’m 
First, now forty
Our first- still recall the day- the birth
/ the joy
The memory book
Our first hike
Holding /carefully- unknowing how to raise
Learning the ropes -we were harder at times- we learn, and we love
A strength for sure
Our first Christmas - gifts piled high
Our sole attention a few years
Graduation, graduation, marrying /commission,
Blessings
Mountain after mountain he climbs and descends / skiing time and time again
Day after day, more beautiful than the first.
Two score now/
So grateful for this quadragenarian life
And the life that he intertwined with /and also they gave life to -
Two gifts that warm the heart and blossom into life
Grace and love and extravagance now spread upon his siblings from the experience he’s gained
“Blanket the earth from one end
to the other”
Career, challenging, and grand in its effort
Through two wars, we walked together
Stars and Stripes forever to us now
Cherished messages in his life -grateful
You’ve called us to witness others’ lives- and we do
But today is your day
We witness you
A sage, a scholar, a brother
Today you will take the path covered in green
Vibrant and alive / leader, husband, father
It’s never been about the well-worn path
Because you always made your way in the most beautiful or bleak places
Graciously you screen the 40th birthday wishes dinned into the ear
May your days “grow long like evening shadows”
Enjoy this fleeting life under the sun
Let joy carry you through the toil and days
And this “mystery called life”
I can barely grasp the love of the True God for you son,
And the offering of thanksgiving, your life
-our lives together
