Blessed Disillusionment

No silver spoon, no picket fence.

A humble home; it just made sense.

To have and to hold. they pledged one day.

For better or worse, they both would stay.

A mom and dad; two kids (no dogs) 

Dad worked hard, had two jobs.

Mom kept house; worked part-time

Clipped coupons; watched every   dime.

School, chores; homework too; then we'd play outside.

Extracurricular activities; the mall, if we could get a ride.

Mom and Dad hardly ever fought but surely they had their woes. 

If they had a lot of stress, they fooled me, I didn't know.

Never expected a lot of things like big vacations and fancy stuff. 

Did just fine with what we had

Enough was just enough.

Life would surely have struggles and problems, of this I was well aware.

But the ones I had when I flew solo, for them I was not prepared.

I thought I'd have what my parents had, of this I wrongly believed.

I thought vows were unbreakable, on this I was deceived.

From that moment when my wedded groom picked up and walked away.

I learned that every man was not my dad, some men just do not stay.

Life would not go as I had planned; this lesson hit real hard.

Maybe I just trust too much; must be on my guard.

I went forward from this heartbreak to never be the same. 

I decided somewhere along the way no point in assigning blame.

The illusion of life like I had known, now broken and shattered and burned.

The life that I was going to have would be built on all that I had learned.

What did I learn? Well you know what.  Just ask Gilda and Lennon fans.

Life means not knowing and about what's happening while you're making other plans.

So faith in God and those I love and finding joy wherever I can. 

Doing my best, showing His Love and leaving the details in His Hands.

Try not to sweat the small stuff 

Expect what can't be planned.

Pain will still be painful

But joy will be more grand.