Grandpa

With this blog, I try to mostly focus on the kids and include pictures and captions with little text, but today I want to write up a little tribute to Grandpa.

 

Growing up, I always thought that the day my grandpa died would be one of the hardest days of my life. I remember having a conversation about it with him on my sixteenth birthday and getting a bit teary eyed just thinking about it. But when Grandpa passed away earlier this week, I was a little sad but mostly grateful--grateful that he could move on to a state of rest and peace: 

"The spirits of all men, as soon as they are departed from this mortal body, yea, the spirits of all men, whether they be good or evil, are taken home to that God who gave them life. And then shall it come to pass, that the spirits of those who are righteous are received into a state of happiness, which is called paradise, a state of rest, a state of peace, where they shall rest from all their troubles and from all care, and sorrow" (Alma 40:11-12).

After the last few years, when Grandpa's quality of life was not very good, I'm glad that he can now rest from all troubles and care and sorrow. And I'm glad he's with his mom again. He sure loved her a lot. He said to me more than once, "Em, I can't wait to introduce you to Momma." I look forward to it! Grandpa Ellsworth and Grandma Ruth are two of my greatest heroes.

Anyway, here are some of my favorite memories of Grandpa...

I remember the sound of him walking on the wood floor. During my early teenage years, my bedroom was in the basement. Most days, Grandpa would knock on the upstairs front door and come in. He had a very distinctive gait, and he had some kind of special accessory on the soles of his shoes, so whenever he'd step on our wood floor I could hear and immediately recognize him from below. I would always run upstairs to give him a big hug, a kiss on the cheek, and he would say, "Hello, Em." Even though it's a really little thing, it's probably one of my favorite memories. It's especially significant now, because he couldn't walk for so long--and now he can again.

March 2010, Lizzie was 7 months old here

Four-generations

I remember our piano / donut dates. At some point, probably around the eighth grade, Grandpa started driving me to my early-morning piano lessons each week. While I was in my lesson, he drove to the Dunkin Donuts down the street and picked me up a couple of my favorite donuts to eat on the drive home. That was our time to talk. He'd usually ask: "What do you know of good report?" or, "Tell me something inspiring!" I usually didn't have much to tell him, and I preferred to ask him to tell me stories about his life. I loved hearing his stories. That's what inspired me to record his life history when I got older. I wanted to make sure I had all of his stories recorded for my children to learn about someday.

This time that we spent together was also significant because it was during a time that I consider to be a low point in my life. I had been bullied a little bit in seventh grade, and I had poor self-esteem and few friends. Grandpa gave me regular, one-on-one attention from an adult, and that made me feel important. If you ask his grandchildren, they'll tell you that Grandpa's trademark saying is: "You are loved," or "You are totally loved." He said it all the time, and it was obvious that he meant it. He loved me, and I knew it. Knowing that Grandpa loved me so much did wonders for my sense of self worth and got me through a hard time in my life.

At Kristi's wedding; I was pregnant with Owen

I remember Grandpa teaching me how to drive. My mom will tell you that I just about killed us a couple times when I was learning to drive (which is true). Teaching me to drive stressed her out (understandably), so Grandpa took over. I remember driving the old farm truck up and down the lane in front of the cabin, and Grandpa would tease me about "Moses in the bullrushes"--because I'd always veer over to one side of the road or the other. When I got better at that, we went over to Clay Springs and drove around the dirt roads there. Then he'd tease me about almost hitting the "little old lady in Clay Springs." (I don't remember any little old lady; he just liked to give me a hard time.) I also remember getting in a car accident shortly before my seventeenth birthday. I was driving the old gray farm truck, and the back bumper got really messed up. Grandpa didn't give me a hard time about it at all; I don't think he even mentioned it. 

At Rachel's wedding

I remember washing dishes together often at the cabin. That's another one of my favorite memories. Grandpa told me once that Grandma did all the cooking, so it was his job to wash the dishes. He'd wash, and I'd rinse and dry. We tried to fit all of the dishes on the drying rack if we could; it was quite a balancing act. It was kind of a game for Grandpa. I remember whistling or humming or singing as we worked. The song that stands out to me the most is "Have I Done Any Good?" I'm sure we sang other songs as well, but that's the one I remember. That has been one of my favorite hymns ever since.

Grandma and Grandpa took Allison and me on a drive through the desert to Roosevelt Canyon. This was in 2001, around the time I graduated from high school.

I remember one time on my mission when I was feeling discouraged because of all of my weaknesses. Grandpa sent me a note that really cheered me up. He said: “Hello Em—… Do your best, but just work on getting better. Don’t become perfect or you may be translated.” I wrote this down on a note card and hung it on my bulletin board for the rest of my mission because it made me smile. "Just work on getting better." It was great advice. I equally liked the last part about being translated; it was Grandpa's way of teasing me from 3,000 miles away. ("Being translated" was a running joke with Grandpa. I used to tease him that his Pepsi was the only thing that kept him from being translated.) I'd look at that note frequently, and it always cheered me up when I got discouraged.

 

Grandpa and I had a lot of interactions over three decades; these five are just a few of my favorites.