I'm going to try...

I thought I knew all I needed to know about you  
but I didn't  
Eighty three years of living is a very long time  
So many peaks, so many valleys  
   
A soft spoken, attractive woman who held it down  
despite all the roadblocks of life  
Both mother and father at a time when  
the kitchen was still considered the only place that you should have been  
   
An unappreciated talent  
Artist,songstress, baker, seamstress,doctor  
Banker,lawyer, nurse, tutor  
A modern day life-coach    
Proud to a fault  
 
I listen to your stories now and think, "who are you ...really"?  
   
I promised you
I would make an effort to maintain some sense of family  
Unlike the countless other times I said I would do something and didn't  
   
I find myself repeating your advice    
as if I were the originator  
Why is wisdom so hard to accept when given freely  
   
At times you speak as if it were yesterday  
questioning me on matters that have long since been resolved
  
I pay attention now however  
not because I have to but because  
I see my future as you tell your past
  
Even in a state of being betwixt and between  
Your still trying to give me direction  
Like it's my first day of school  
   
I'm sure it's been a hard road    
While you might be tired... I still need you    
Selfish...yes  
I still need to feel your touch  
Your granddaughter need to know the source of my wisdom  
   
As I reach within one more time  
I'm asking the same from you  
 
I promised you that I'm going to try  
Can you