献给父母与祖辈的感谢、传承和家庭歌曲

Karen had tried to write a card for three days and couldn't get past the first sentence. She described her mother's specific habits — the way she kept every report card, the soup she made whenever anyone was sick, the exact phrase she said when Karen left for college. The song made her mother go silent for a full minute before she could speak.

James wanted to say things he had never managed to say out loud in 35 years. He typed for about 25 minutes — the fishing trips, the way his dad fixed things without being asked, a specific argument they had when James was 19 that he still thinks about. The finished song said it all more cleanly than James ever could have.

The family pooled memories from six cousins to describe their grandmother: her kitchen, her laugh, her habit of giving food to anyone who came to the door. The song became the centerpiece of the birthday party. She asked for it to be played at every family event going forward.