T'was the night before TG and throughout the land
The countdown has finished, for those who still stand.
The weather gal says that the sunshine will stay,
And keep that nasty tornado of '01 far away.
The lawn has been mowed, Pete and Joe - out of gas,
And the grounds are now ready for guests on smooth grass.
The house is just sparkling; the gardens are groomed,
The driveway's been swept as if royal visitors loomed.
Mary's been busy with chopping and slicing
Now all that's left is to make royal icing.
Her troops are well practiced; they're ready to serve us.
Her food's always fab, there's no need to be nervous.
With cucumbers slices so fresh, crab puffs so divine
We'll consume them right quickly with liters of wine.
The people with porta-pots and those who bring tents
Have visited, set up and now wait for their rents.
Thanks to Maureen and Colleen, Kelly, Debi and Judy
They've pitched countless ideas as if this were their duty.
The newspapers bulge with great WCP tales
And men-in-tights stories get read! Never fails.
Our web site reached worldwide, our page is on Facebook.
Three decades ago, we filled only one front porch nook.
SA donors rallied, they came through in droves,
But Sandy and Kim can't yet head for their coves.
Now bid sheets and numbering, matching and packing,
Next, checkout, not-paid-yets and sold-items tracking.
The volunteer round-up old records did break
'Cause Elizabeth and Shannon many nights laid awake.
They've trained them and scheduled them, made them file forms.
Why, they even snatched a few of them out of their dorms.
The day-of, Barbara, Linda and crew'll arrange flowers
Thank goodness there's six of them, or it would take hours.
They make the place festive and so naturally fair
Among other fund raisers, this one's beauty is rare.
Amidst her promotion, Kathleen raised huge funds
While Carol made road trips to woo still more big guns.
Melissa and Sarah tapped big sponsors, too.
My goodness, without them, what would we all do?
And needless to say, that without our Ms. Dingell
There'd be far fewer bells for the day cares to jingle.
On this night before TG, Terri's signs are now done,
Right up to last minute, she designed every one.
Her gorgeous annual reports had been mailed far and wide.
We knew when folks saw them, they'd read the inside.
She crafted invites and biz cards and certificates as well
Plus web headers and reply cards. Gosh, we've put her through hell!
Madhu's kept the stats and pulled research that sings,
Mary Lynn has helped gather those parties with wings.
Christina and Lynne have helped steer us toward fame
And showed us quite clearly there's much in our name.
Valerie's kept our shenanigans (and the stunts we've pulled) legal.
No law's been o'er looked, no other Rhodes Scholar's her equal.
We're trademarked, thanks to her, so our logo's now real.
With rates at pro bono, her advice is a steal!
Janet's sighing relief - she's regained time for her business.
We love Elayne's photos; she captures our weirdness.
Our men are all ready; their aprons are pressed.
For years they've been with us, in shorts they've been dressed
We can't do without them; it'd never be the same
As we've twisted and shouted and called them by name:
Thanks Muchmore and Walters and Ruff and Bob Bowman.
Hail Workman and Thayer. Their service is yeoman.
And there's a star in our midst, one who makes it look easy.
With her patience and kindness, Karen never gets bitchy.
She pulls us together, follows up on loose ends,
She solves many problems, to all our needs she attends.
She knows every detail, our queen of the multi task;
We wonder at times why she doesn't carry a flask.
On the day after TG, we're all going to miss
The emails and prodding of our own Miss Meliss
And we're all going to wonder after this year of thirty,
When in 2009, we were so jaunty and flirty
How we're going to hold up when the TG is sixty!
Are we going to be puffy and portly and dizzy and itchy?
Will our cause still be timeless, our help still be priceless,
Our mission still faultless, our friendships still endless?
When will Carol ever be ready to throw in the towel?
Will it be when she no longer can pick up a trowel?
Will it be when she hears her beloved Pete growl?
Or the Milford volunteers say "United we howl?"
At the end of this TG, the end of the night,
We'll hear Carol laugh, as guests drive out of sight,
"From on top of the bar, to the porta-john stall,
Now splash away, flash away, dash away all!"
