Welcome Home

My Grandpa Bowen grew up on a farm on the outskirts of Driggs, Idaho. His childhood home remained in the family for over 60 years until he was forced to sell it in 1999. My brothers and I had many fond memories spending time with my grandparents on the farm, and we were grateful that the new owner allowed us to come back with our family for a few reunions over the past 20 years. Recently, through miraculous events, my brothers were able to buy the farm and restore ownership to the Bowen family. Our hearts were full of gratitude as we were able to celebrate Thanksgiving and have a big reunion up in Driggs with our aunts, uncles, cousins, parents, and children surrounding us. We held a special meeting to rededicate the home for future generations, and I took the opportunity to share a poem I had written for the occasion. 

Welcome Home

Many of our ancestors

Have called this place their home

It beckons to our family

Wherever we may roam

A place to gather ‘round and hear

The stories of the past

And make immortal memories

That will forever last

The ones who came before us

And who raised their families here

Knew hard work, love, and faith are part

Of what makes life so dear

It’s not about the house itself

It’s not about the land

For we are only stewards of

The gifts made by God’s hand

Whether hiking or on horseback

All the trails that we’ve explored

Hold sweet reminders of the man

We all loved and adored

Those early morning fishing trips

And late nights by the fire

Mean so much more when precious time

Is all that we desire

Bedtime stories read from books

That Grandma always kept

Songs we sang and games we played

Those nights we hardly slept

Childhood mem’ries echo from

The rooftop to the floor

Begging us to fill it with

A hundred thousand more

What makes this place so valuable

Is decades worth of life

Spent with whom we cherish

Through the happiness and strife

How sacred are the mem’ries forged

With family near and far

When there’s a place to gather it means

“Home” is where’er we are

So let us gather often

As we talk of days gone by

We might gaze up at the Tetons

Humbly asking ourselves why

Our family is so very blessed

To call this place our own

Because it brings us close to those

Who make it feel like home