A Coming Reunion

Jim's made good in the world out there, an' Kate has a man that's true,
No better, of course, than she deserves; she's rich, but she's happy, too;
Fred is manager, full-fledged now-he's boss of a big concern
An' I lose my breath when I think sometimes of the money that he can earn;
Clever-the word don't mean enough to tell what they really are,
Clever, an' honest an' good an' kind-if you doubt me, ask their Ma.
Proud of 'em! Well, I should say we are, an' we have a right to be,
Some are proud to have one child, an' I am proud of three!
That's all the honor a fellow needs, why Ma an' I often say
There isn't a king or a queen on earth as proud as we are today;
Three babies off in the world out there, all honest an' kind an' true,
That's something to brag of when you are old an' your journey is almost through.
We've stretched the table out a bit, the way that it used to be,
When we were younger-an' here's Ma's chair, an' there is a place for me;
An' there's a chair for our little Kate an' one for the man she wed,
An' yonder, just to the left of Ma, is a place for our baby Fred,
An' Jim, the eldest, will sit by me-they're comin' Thanksgiving day
To sit once more where they used to sit before they went away.
They ain't ashamed of the old, old place, an' they ain't ashamed of me,
An' they're just as proud of their dear old Ma as ever they used to be;
They've got rich friends in the city now, an' there's nothing that's fine they lack,
But their hearts still stay with us here at home, and they joy in the comin' back.
So we've stretched the table out a bit to the length that it was when they
Were youngsters here in the home with us. They're comin' Thanksgiving day.