In Memorium...

This last Saturday, while we were in the middle of cleaning our old apartment, I received a call from my dad to inform us that his mother, Grandma Hale (is my family the only family that called grandparents by their last names?), had passed away. It was not unexpected: her health had been going down hill for some time and as far as I had heard, she had even made statements hoping for it to come so she could return to be with Grandpa. Earlier in the week the report came that she had become incoherent and Corrina knew from experience (with her own grandma) that it would most likely be a matter of days. I don't do very well with emotions (whether that's a strength or a weakness, I can't say) but I did have the chance to grieve earlier in the week. As I've said before, I have a lot of time to think at work and my mind likes to wander from topic to topic during the three and a half hours I'm there. That particular morning, I got to thinking about Grandma and memories I had of her.
Seeing as for the majority of my life, we have lived in CA while she has lived in UT, all my memories revolve around the semi-regular road trips to UT we would take when I was younger. I remember vividly visiting Grandma and Grandpa in their little apartment just a few short blocks from the Logan Temple. I remember all of us kids rolling our sleeping bags out in the tiny living room and covering the entire floor with them so you could hardly walk (there was a lot of us kids). (I even remember watching The Commish in Grandma's living room) I also remember that Grandma was of the opinion that face cards were inappropriate for members of the church (not even for playing innocent games like War, Go Fish, etc) so even though we could bring them to entertain ourselves during the drive, once we got there they had to stay in the car the whole time so Grandma wouldn't see them. I remember her cooking breakfast for us in the mornings, can't remember what she would cook but I remember it being delicious. Above all, I remember her loving us dearly, even though we were loud, rambunctious boys that would have driven anyone crazy. I remember after I graduated from High School, my best friend Ben and I took a road trip (with his little brother) to Utah and Idaho to go to EFY for a week. We gave ourselves plenty of time before and after EFY week to visit family in the Logan area before coming back home (he has a lot of family there too) and we made sure to visit Grandma. It was fun to visit with her now that I had gotten a little older and a little more mature. And then this summer when Corrina, the kids, and I took a road trip to Wyoming and Montana, we stopped in Logan to be able to visit her and introduce Jaron and Lara to her. The kids did really well with her and weren't as shy as they usually are with strangers and after the visit Corrina and I both realized that might be the only chance for them to see their great-grandma. We were greatful that things worked out the way they did for us to be able to take that trip.
I also remember Grandpa. He used to be a dairy farmer for Kraft Foods so he ALWAYS carried Kraft caramel cubes in his pocket (had to be Kraft) so when we would see him we would go to shake his hand and he would first palm a cube from his pocket and hand it off in the hand shake. (Kraft caramel cubes are still my favorite brand to this day). I also have memories of when he would walk us down to the temple after dark to see it lit up at night as we walked the grounds and he would share stories of miraculous events that happened in the early days of the temple (my favorite being the heavenly visitations after the temple work for the Hale family was completed).
A couple of weeks ago, it was requested that the family participate in a special fast so that she would be comforted and to let her pass so she would not have the pain and so she could return to Grandpa. I participated in the fast, but I couldn't bring myself to ask Heavenly Father to let her die. I don't know if I didn't have the courage or what but all I could fast for was that she would be blessed with the righteous desires of her heart. I'm grateful that she has now found peace and rest and that she is with her husband.I know that through the restored Gospel of Jesus Christ, families can be sealed together for time and all eternity, and not just til death do us part, in the temples that He has commanded us to build and dot the earth with.