As I prepared for Joshua's visitation on February 18, 2022, I felt strongly led to search through his writings. These two poems, written nearly seven years earlier, were the ones I stood and read that evening just feet away from his coffin. Though he could not have known it at the time, his words became part of the farewell shared with family and friends.

You are a product of all who came before you. On Grandparents Day, I reflect on the lives of my ancestors and the unseen influence they have had on my own life.