To dearest Maxine on her seventy-sixth birthday

There have been many years that you count up to this very day.
We have grown older together, and not always too gracefully.
During those years together, we have weathered many heart-rendering crises:
My job changes that caused the need for you to go back to work,
Our major illnesses that are still scaring us today.
But, yet, can still remember those years that were intermingled with joy:
Our first home, our beautiful son, who helped to give us our wonderful grandson,
Our wonderful trips by plane and car.
Yes, you have counted many years in your life,
But, God willing, they will just be the beginning of many more joyous ones.

Happy Birthday Sweetheart