My grandmother passed away just before Thanksgiving. She was 94 and hadn't been herself for a few years because of Alzheimer's. Of course there have been lots of conflicting emotions. Mostly, I have just missed her and also felt so grateful to be her granddaughter.
I love this picture:
My grandma and grandpa around the time of their wedding:
My dad is the baby in this picture:
Visiting my grandma in her house that I loved so much:
Visiting her later at the care facility she stayed in (with Nate):
We ended up flying to UT for the funeral a couple weeks ago. It had been a long time since we'd flown. It was before the boys came and the girls didn't even remember it. They were excited to go on the plane.
Don't let those pictures fool you--Elijah didn't much like the flight. He didn't understand why he had to sit in my lap and couldn't just crawl around the plane. We actually had a bunch of struggles with the older kids too that I won't get into here. We learned that we are not very good flyers! Thankfully our kids are good in the car so I think we'll stick to that for awhile.
The kids were excited to see snow everywhere. We stayed a night at Grandpa Tom's house and they loved playing in it for a minute:
Then we checked into a hotel where my family was staying.
More snow!
We also got to grab some Cafe Rio with Katie while we were in town:
Our kids managed to dump a full glass of water and break a bottle of hot sauce while we there. Ah, the frustrations of eating out with kids! It was so nice seeing Katie and meeting her boyfriend, Cory.
Then came the day of the funeral. It went well. I had to lead the music and ended up crying through most of the songs. It was an emotional day but I loved everything that was said. It was a very fitting tribute to my grandma. I loved the time with family I hadn't seen in a long time, too.
My grandma had a lot of enthusiasm for life. She was very social and loved to be out with friends. She loved to travel and went all over the world, a lot of it after my grandpa passed away about 25 years ago. I always thought of her as very independent since I was young when my grandpa died and mostly only knew her single. She worked for a long time, almost to her 80's I believe. Then, she went on a mission when she was 80 to the Family History Library in Salt Lake. She loved playing games, especially cards. Our family reunions were full of card games--mostly hand and foot. I loved the sound of the electric card shuffler going! She had a bit of a lead foot. She loved the Glenn Miller Band and big band music and I remember driving with her listening to her tapes. She taught me how to cook my very first turkey when we were at a reunion once when I was a teenager. I remember her plucking out the few feathers that were still in it like it was no big deal and being completely grossed out by it myself. She also taught me how to crochet once when she visited for Christmas. Sadly, I only made one scarf and promptly lost that skill. She made us a beautiful blanket as a wedding present. She was a wonderful cook. I loved her rhubarb pie, strawberry spinach salad, and all the meals she'd cook.
I'm so thankful for the time I had with her right around the time Joe and I got married. He was living in Logan and I was in Provo while we were engaged so I was constantly driving up to see him and I'd stay with my grandma. Then, after we were married and I moved to Logan we saw even more of her. We even lived at her house for about a month before we moved back down to Provo.
I remember asking her once, right around that time, if she had any marriage advice for me. She said, "Well, one thing I know is that Ruel and I were a lot happier when I stopped acting like I was responsible for his eternal salvation." I have thought about that advice a lot and I can see the wisdom in it. My grandpa wasn't always active in the church but he did come around later and my Grandma always took her kids to church. They lived in California, Arizona and Washington, often in small struggling congregations, and she served in every position you can imagine. That is probably her biggest legacy--her faith and devotion to the gospel. That and her love for her family. It always shone through and she always made me feel like I was really something special. I sure loved her for it!
I'm glad to know that my grandma and grandpa are reunited and I can't wait to see them again someday. I just hope I can live up to her example.
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