Because She Loves Me

My Grandma and I

This weekend my Grandma was really ill and in the hospital, is still ill and in the hospital. I felt a strong push to go and visit her and so on Saturday my children and I headed to the hospital. My Grandma is 94 the picture above is at her 94th Birthday party. I think the one thing I remember most about the party as her her children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren were gathered around she exclaimed, "Look at you, I love you all, you are all mine!"

It is hard to watch someone you love age. It was interesting because I think most of us felt that push to go see her. There was no pressure from my Mom I just felt I should go. I think most of my local family members felt the same thing because there was a constant stream of family around her all day and night long. WE LOVE OUR GRANDMA BECAUSE SHE LOVED US SO WELL. She was an example to me of what true charity is and I never doubted her love or devotion to me. I knew it.

And so as things like this go and someone I love is so ill, I begin to think. Those wheels in my mind churn and sometimes the feelings that stir in my heart well up in my eyes and roll down my cheeks. Then I try to push it away and get busy on things so I am not sad. I thought the best thing I could do was to write and get some of these feelings out. So, I want you to know what kind of a Grandma she
was to me.

Memories

Grandma's favorite color is blue. 

Blue like her grey blue eyes that when you look into them it is like blue ribbons of love shoot out of them and wrap you all up in it. 

She loves to give hugs and kisses I never left Grandma's house or presence with out a hug and a kiss. 

When I was a baby my Mom and I lived with my Grandma for a while during that time I learned all about what it meant to be a Grandma. Here some of my memories. 

She would sit on the floor with me and we would do puzzles.

Each day of the week was a different chore. I can't remember the order but I know one day she would clean and I can smell pine sol in my mind's eye. I see her vacuuming with a GREAT BIG, heavy, brute, of a brown vacuuming cleaner. I see her scrubbing on her hands and knees the kitchen floor. I see her wiping tables and ironing clothes as I watch Scooby-Do. I see her making beds. 

I see Grandma having friends over and a GREAT BIG quilt spread in her front room and ladies all around it talking and giggling. It was my job to crawl underneath and find the pins that had fallen into the carpet. They probably threw a few in there to keep me busy and when I would find one they would exclaim how smart I was and what sharp eyes I had.

I go with Grandma to visit old ladies to sit and talk. I feel kind of uncomfortable around old people but Grandma doesn't. She just sits and visits. 

I see Grandma sewing things on her old avocado green sewing machine. She teaches me how to sew buttons and use a needle to embroider around pictures in the fabric like butterflies. She teaches me how to thread the needle and knot the thread by licking my finger, pulling the thread off and it magically ties in a knot. She shows me that you always start with the knot underneath. 

I see Grandma working in the garden. She is planting flowers, herbs, and vegetables. I hear her say you can't grow anything here in the desert unless it is covered in thorns and I am confused because she always grows things. We sprinkle salt on the slugs and watch them shrivel up. I think this is great fun! She cuts sweet pea flowers to put on the table and they smell so good. She cuts roses and sets them in the front room. A lot of times she cuts just the head of the rose and she floats it in a pretty white dish with bumps. Now I know it is called milk glass. 

I see Grandma cooking in the kitchen and I love it when I am sitting in the front room just as the sun hits the golden hour. Everything becomes gold through her off white lace curtains. I can smell onions and cabbage and meat...... all kinds of things that are delicious and my tummy grumbles. It is like soaking in what HOME should feel like, smell like, look like, sound like and taste like. 

One of the days of the week is BAKING day. Which is one of my favorite days at Grandma's. She makes cakes, homemade bread, rolls, pies, cookies..everything. She lets me sit at the counter and gives me some dough to play with. I am "helping". If it is pie dough she gives me a little to roll out and make a shape we put jam in the center and I get to bake my own "pie".  I can't wait for whatever it is to finish baking because when it is done I get to have a taste! YUM! I can still taste the rolls with butter melting in the middle. 

I take a nap everyday and I love to take a nap. She tucks me in, sometimes when I wake up she is 
laying on the couch reading a book. The book has a man like Fabio on the front and some damsel in distress I am sure. She also reads church books but those don't look as interesting. (haha)

She makes me lunch every day there is a sandwich with veggies and fruit all cut up and easy to eat. 

On grocery day she lets me pick out a cereal and yogurt that I like to eat. She gives me a penny for the gumball machine. 

I am sick. Really sick. Pain is coursing from my ear through my head and down my neck. It hurts so badly I feel as if I cannot move. It is a constant thing for me that I loathe, that pain when it comes. Grandma rocks me until the pain bursts electric and hot. I cry. She rocks me and holds me close to her perfectly soft, snugly, Grandma body. She rocks me as long as it hurts and she sings lu-lu-lu-la-la-lu. 

She never gets mad at me. 

She gives me jello when my tummy hurts. 

Sometimes I would walk on her back when it hurt. 

She would tickle my face, arms, and feet. 

She had a gold bridge behind her front teeth and when I lost my first tooth she told me, "If you don't lick the spot where your tooth grows in at all...not even once...you will be lucky and get gold teeth like these!" OH HOW I TRIED NOT TO LICK THAT SPOT......but it was no use and in grew a pearly white tooth. Later in life I learned that Grandma had had a terrible abscess in one of her front 
teeth. 


She never forgot a birthday and always sent me a dollar. As an adult she still will send money when she remembers and Christmas time too. 

She drove me to school every day and she would lick her thumb and wipe my face clean. Before she got to the school she would put on lipstick in the rearview mirror. Then she would kiss me. It was Cover Girl. I have a tube of lipstick that smells just like hers. 

She always wore Chanel No. 5

She is FUNNY. She loves to have fun, dress up, and be silly. 

There was this giant blue thing not too far from her house. I asked her once what it was....She said, "You know when you lose a shoe and you can't find the other one?" Yes, I replied. She said, "that is where they keep all the mis-matched shoes." OHHHHHH....it made PERFECT sense to me. 

There are many more memories of her serving our family. She had huge elaborate holiday meals, our whole family met together each Monday for FHE. I remember helping with a big garage sale at her house and out she walked with a GINORMOUS plate of fresh cinnamon twists. She would make scones and have all of her Grandchildren over on New Years Day I think. 

She loves me. She is my hero. She taught me how to love with my heart and my hands. I know she must have loved me before we came to this earth for she is a guardian angel for me. She has watched me grow and tenderly loved me each step of the way through her example. She is one of the best gifts I have been given in this life. Like my cousin Aubree said, "She is perfect to me!" 

My Grandma came to help me in my classroom this summer. There is no way you could live to 94 and not have some serious SPUNK! 

If my cousins, our friends, or family have a cute memory of Grandma feel free to share it in the comments. Pictures of Grandma giving us all kisses. 

Me kissing Grandma

 My family at the hospital..the side of my sisters arm, my kids, Mom, Me and brother. A tender mercy for us was she is on my Mom's floor at the hospital which JUST happens to be the same floor my cousin works on. I think that brought a lot of peace of mind to Grandma and the rest of us.

Monica and Harper cutie kissing Grandma and Paul Petersen grinning in the background

Oldest and youngest cousins Ben Briggs on left and Paul Petersen on right. 

Ava cutie kissing Grandma

Aubree kissing Grandma

Paul kissing Grandma

Paul got a lot of photo's in....must be those cute dimples of his... :)

Landon and Ashley...cute newlyweds...giving Grandma kisses

Justine and Todd cuties giving Grandma kisses

Ben giving Grandma kisses

Briggs giving Grandma kisses look at how she looks at him with SO much love...this is how she looks at all of us. Blue ribbons of love to wrap us all up. 

Grandma with brand new fresh from heaven baby girl, Paul and Raquel's baby Pearl Elizabeth named after her. Elizabeth Briggs. 

This is just a few of us. There are many more cousins and family members who love Grandma. Thank you to Patti and Margie who started the kissing pictures after sweet baby Pearl arrived. I will add more as more are taken. 

There's No Place Like Home

The Beehive House-Salt Lake City- Temple Square

It is the Sunday night before going back to work. I am ready to go back. I miss my class and I am grateful for my job. It allows me the wonderful opportunity to have the same schedule as my babes. My children left Christmas Day at 10 am. I was exhausted when they left. I came home and slept for three hours. I then had three whole days to myself at home. I put Christmas away. I cleaned the house up and gave the floor a good scrub. There is one thing I can't stand and that is a dirty floor. Ew. I got things in order had some things repaired around the house and I cleaned out the fridge. I slept and I watched movies. I even went on several dates with a variety of nice men and spent time with my beloved friends. It is nice to get out sometimes. I thought about the year ahead and earmarked somethings that needed change. 

Then I went on a little adventure. 

My friend Tessie and I decided to go to Utah for a few days, we stayed in our darling friends home near Midway. It was COLD.We saw the new Provo Temple which was beautiful. We went to the Norman Rockwell Exhibit at the Museum of Art at BYU. I bought a print I have been wanting for some time but just could not justify the purchase. Luckily, I had some Christmas money and was able to acquire the print, She Will Find What is Lost by Brian Kershisnik. I love art so much and the title of this piece is perfect for the new year ahead. There are so many times I have felt the help of angles earthly and spiritual. I love this so much. I can't wait to get it framed and up in my home. 

 We originally had plans to go to a singles New Years Eve party but as the time to get ready approached we decided it would be more fun to go to dinner in Park City and watch a movie. That may not sound exciting to you but to two busy single Mom's it was just what the doctor ordered. We talked about New Years Eve's past and how we would get ready and head out to a singles party and stay out until four AM. This year would be different and we hoped it would set the tone for the year. A year of balance, self care, and peace. A year of gratitude for the simple things. In fact we enjoyed ourselves so much we repeated the same schedule every night. Redbox was our best ally. It was so cold and sunny!

We met my dear friend for lunch New Years Day at the Sixth and Pine Cafe. There was nothing better to me than to be surrounded by friends talking and laughing. I just wish a few more of my favorites were with us but we have the whole year ahead to create wonderful memories. He gave us the coolest tour of where he was staying and we got a birds eye view of temple square. Isn't it lovely. 

Each night as Tessie and I would drive through the canyon we were in awe of the pioneers who had to cross the mountainous terrain on foot to get to the Utah Valley. We marveled at the feat they accomplished many in the cold snowy winter. It was almost unfathomable. I felt like I was truly suffering in my Uggs, coat, scarf, and long johns! We also talked about how they had to literally climb mountains but our mountains to climb are different. 

It was bitter cold to us desert dwellers with temperatures in the single digits. 

Moulding carving in the Beehive House. 

We enjoyed the City Creek center and Temple Square. We visited the newly remodeled Church History Museum. I give it five stars. They currently have the church's art contest which only happens every three years. The art was magnificent and I marveled at the talents of others. The First Vision movie is awesome. I hope I can take my kids there, maybe in the summertime. We walked through temple square. We toured the Joseph Smith Building and were delighted to spend time with our 86 year old tour guide who was spry, gracious, funny and kind. We then met several sets of sister missionaries in the Beehive House and had a wonderful tour of it. We then went to the Lion House and had a little snack. We had been to the Swiss village Midway earlier in the day and had a late breakfast. I had never been to Midway! What a darling town, I think everyone should go. 

There are a few things that delight my soul like nothing else: Art, Music, Historical Sites and Museums. I love it. These are a few of my favorite things. It was a wonderful trip as I think of all the fun things we were able to see and do. There is something else I love. I love coming home. I think this may be the best thing about leaving, the coming home. My bed, my bathroom, the food I like to eat, THE TEMPERATURE. Since I was childless it was a GRAND way to start the new year. Here's to  more adventure in 2016! 

XOXO- Make your life happy and you will be happy too. The Sunny D.