I love Grandma!

So, since Jonathan had a "Super Saturday" thing for Pinnacle Security in Salt Lake City, and our good friends were going to visit their in-laws in Nephi, they asked if I wanted to ride with them to Payson and visit my Grandma instead of staying home by myself for the weekend. It was a long drive, and felt good to finally get to Grandma's.
We stayed up the first night and talked for a good 2 hours before she headed to bed. She told me of how before she was born, her uncle came back to Norway and gave her older sister a baby blessing and promised in there that she "would be a mother in Zion." So that is what their family always talked about cause that's what they mostly remembered, how Mary would be a good mother in Zion. And my grandma was so jealous and all her life she wanted to be a good mother in Zion. Well, years later, when they came to America (I believe it was, at 21yrs) that same uncle gave her a get well blessing when she was sick, and in there promised that she would be a good mother in Israel. She said she was finally relieved and happy that she had been blessed with that because her whole life that is all that she ever wanted to be - a good mother in Zion. I thought that was very noble of her.
Then I talked to my aunt for a few more hours before I finally fell asleep (which I really wanted to do earlier due to headaches/exhaustion.. but it's hard to pass up treasured time with loved ones).  I had a pretty crummy night after I woke up to go potty at 5am. My legs were feeling restless/throbbing (plus sleeping alone was unusual) so I tried for 3 hours before I finally fell back asleep. And then woke up at noon (oops!). Grandma told me to lay in bed (the air mattress) as long as I wanted and that it was okay, so I didn't feel quite so bad. :)

The rest of the day I hung out with my Aunt, Lilly. She had some friends up from BYU-Hawaii she knew were in town that were going to the Festival of Colors. Only... we didn't know it was going on. I guess they have it at the Radna Krishnas Temple at Spanish Fork, which we were originally going to go tour, but then we noticed the masses of "colored-looking" people - orange, purple, green, pink CHALKED faces/bodies. And decided we'd meet the friends somewhere.. a little less messy. Had we known, we might've planned for that adventure and would have NOT showered. But it wasn't something we were really hyped up on doing either. Later we came back and talked with Grandma for a while, and my other aunt came home. So we all chatted - mostly about my Grandpa and the days leading up to his death. Well, they chatted, I listened. And later that evening they wrote thank you cards to all the people who helped with the funeral.

Sunday I went to my Grandma's ward for Sacrament meeting, which I think had a perfect theme to it. The topic of the talks were on overcoming your trials/burdens. Very appropriate especially for the past few weeks and all that has been happening. I was pretty tired when I came home, since I didn't get really good sleep that night (I decided to try the couch instead to see if that would help, but I took a baby nap while they wrote thank-yous and ended up waking up right when they wanted to go to bed.. Perfect) BUT when we came home my Grandma decided to talk to me about her life growing up, which I cannot pass. She's such an awesome lady! She told me stories of when she was really little in Norway, and how her father, whom she couldn't remember very well because he drowned at sea when she was 2, gave her older sister a dolly with open and closing eyes..and then gave her a brown monkey. lol And how for the longest time she wanted a dolly with eyes that opened and closed! Finally, years later in America, when Grandpa was courting her, he finally bought her a doll that opened and closed her eyes. And she still has it!
She also talked about back in the day when cigarettes were really popular and coming out, that her and her siblings found an empty sliding cigarette box on the ground and decided to make a camera out of it by cutting two holes and coloring them green and red where the slider slid - green meant the camera was ready to shoot. And all the neighborhood children would come around to get their "picture taken." And then her sister would draw them the picture and hand it to them. Too funny. She also told me of when they'd take long walks down the street, and she knew that you could buy 2 pieces of candy for 1 penny. So her and her sister would beg and beg her mother for a penny (they would start while they were far enough away, so she would end up digging in her purse the closer they got), but as soon as they got close enough to the store, her older sister would say, "No, Ruth! hard candy rots your teeth and isn't healthy for your stomach" And then her mom would drop her penny back in the purse and they'd walk on. I just HAD to laugh. She said they'd do that every time they'd walk down that road near the candy shop in hopes her mother would give in. But they never could get any candy! lol Guess momma was too hard to convince.
Oh man, now I'm rambling about Grandma's stories! I just love hearing them. I was really tired and needed a nap, but I couldn't shut my eyes while she was telling me stories of her favorite pasttimes. She then asked me if I remembered any memories growing up and I told her a few. And then she told me a really funny one (which I won't really mention on here cause I'm not sure if it's totally appropriate) but it is really funny. You can ask me lol. I laughed so hard and I didn't even know that happened. Usually my mom tells me funny things that happened as a kid, but I never heard this one.

Sigh... anyways. I finally took a nap, we had lasagna for an early dinner, then we all talked some more and my friends came to pick me up. But they got entrapped by Grandma, and she invited them in to the room with all the family history and old photos on the wall. And they ended up staying for a good 30-40 minutes just talking. Grandma loves telling stories. :)

I really liked being with my Grandma. I know she has a hard time without Grandpa, and especially while her kids (my aunts) leave to go out and she is all alone. That is the hardest for her. So I'm glad I got to spend some time with her. But I also missed my hunny!! It felt so good to be back in his arms and sleeping in the same bed with him, by my side. I can't imagine how Grandma feels without hers, especially being with him for so long. But I admire her, cause she is so strong, and even during the tough times, and the memories that would bring me to tears if I told them, she doesn't cry and she continues. My grandparents are the best. They had so much love for each other and loved everyone so much. I'm so lucky.