Betty you can call me Al

When Keith and I met he listened to a Paul Simon cd a lot.  One of the songs on it was "You can call me Al."  The chorus said, "and Betty when you call me, you can call me Al."  I thought it was funny and told my grandma and she got a kick out of it too. 

I have been thinking about all of my memories with my grandma and today I went through old pictures that helped jog some more memories.  I sure love my grandparents.  I was always so excited when they would come to visit and not just because they would buy yummy treats and take us out to dinner.  They made me feel special, they would talk to me and ask me about my interests and listen to me as I rambled on and on.  I always knew they loved me.  I remember following my grandpa around as a little kid and wanting any time I could get with him.  I remember him walking to 7-11 (I was good at dropping hints and thought I was pretty sneaky, but I'm pretty sure he was on to me) with us and buying us treats.  I remember grandma telling me and Chris we ate too many treats!  I remember getting so excited to go to Antioch every summer.  I liked to have sleepovers with Chris, but honestly I liked being at grandma's and grandpa's house the best because I always felt safe and happy there.  I remember grandpa saying he was going to take me out to the woodshed.  I remember playing in his den all of the time and I'm sure it drove him crazy, but he never said a word.  I remember going straight to the freezer when we got to grandma's house to look for cookies and ice cream.  I remember getting excited to drink real milk and have the good cereal while we were there.  I remember grandma setting out place mats around the bar for breakfast.  I remember grandpa laying on the floor a lot because his back always hurt.  I remember grandpa reading the newspaper and falling asleep all of the time.  I remember grandma always telling us about her ancestors and family in Hyrum UT.  I remember grandma asking me and Holly if we saw any cute boys at the family reunion.

I remember how kind grandma and grandpa were to each other.  Grandpa always complimented grandma and talked about how beautiful she was.  I remember grandma telling me on my wedding day to believe Keith when he said I was beautiful because she wished she would have believed grandpa when he told her (he died the year before I got married.) I remember going to Antioch for Christmas a few times and how exciting that was.  I remember the big Christmas Eve parties and dinner at grandma's on Christmas day.  I remember running through the house when I was young while all of the grown ups told us to stop running through the house and go outside. 

I remember all of the grown ups sitting in the kitchen and talking.  I remember trying to ease drop as I got older and getting sent away (just like I do to my kids now.)   I remember going to grandma's and grandpa's for Thanksgiving during the crazy 2000 election and watching the news with them and waiting to see who was going to be our President.  I remember watching Everybody Loves Raymond with them and hearing grandma laugh really hard during it.

I remember Chris and I teasing that I was grandpa's favorite and he was grandma's.  It might have been true because when we graduated from High School on the same day, grandma went to his and grandpa came to mine.  I remember when grandma and grandpa met us in Oregon for Thanksgiving.   I remember grandpa driving in the wrong lane on the way to Gary's graduation and I finally had to tell him.  I remember grandpa driving me and Chris to Jen's wedding dinner and he parked in a spot where grandma and I couldn't open our doors and he said it was fine and we could just squeeze out.  I remember when Tiff and I were riding with grandma and grandpa in Utah and their car broke down on 3200 South and we had to walk back home in the cold, snowy weather.  They had their car fixed before that and grandpa was not happy and went back and told the mechanic that his wife and granddaughters had to walk in the cold and the mechanic admitted to not fixing it correctly and offered to buy his family dinner.  I remember that grandpa forgave him after the rest of us told him to say great, all 30 of us will be there (the whole family was in town.) 

I remember their back yard.  It was beautiful and always trimmed and perfect.  I remember grandma working in the back yard.  I remember running around and around the house through both gates.  I remember getting so excited to see the house when we would arrive from our long drive every summer.  I remember being so excited to go inside and dad reminding us to tidy our area before we went in.  I remember jumping along the stepping stones in the back yard and swinging in the tree swing.

I remember being so sad and shocked when grandpa died.  I loved hearing all of the wonderful things about him and everything he had done in Antioch as a principal and as a bishop.  I loved that everywhere we went someone knew him and I hated coming home to Utah where no one knew him and what a loss it was to lose such an amazing man at such a young age.  I remember being so worried about grandma and how she would do on her own.  I hated that I would be so far away and wouldn't be able to visit her and help her.  I remember staying for an extra week after grandpa died because I didn't want her to go from a house full of family to an empty house over night.  I wanted to give everyone in Antioch time to get caught up on their lives, after being with grandpa in the hospital and then having his funeral, so that when I left they would have time to be with grandma.  I remember helping grandma with her cell phone, using an ATM and pumping gas.  Those were all things that grandpa took care of for her.  I remember when I got home grandma called to talk to me and I was still asleep and she told dad, "you let her sleep, she stayed with grandpa in the hospital and then she stayed and took care of me and she needs some rest."  My dad said she got emotional and that meant so much to me because I felt like I had made a difference and helped grandma see how much I loved her.

I remember being so excited to call grandma when I had my babies.  I remember that she always sent them an adorable outfit.  I used to write letters to grandma and grandpa and then I started e-mailing them.  I loved telling them what I was doing because they would always comment on it when I saw them and knew what I had been up to. 

I remember calling grandma a lot after grandpa died.  It got harder as I had little kids because we would end up talking for a couple of hours.  I would buy calling cards because it was cheaper than using the long distance on our phone.  It was so much easier when we had cell phones where long distance didn't matter.   

I remember grandma always playing "so big" with the babies!  Every time we talked on the phone she would talk about the weather and then update me on all of the family there and ask about my family and siblings.  We would usually talk about our callings in the church and how crazy the world was getting. Caitlyn and Jonah used to talk to her on the phone too.  

I remember being so excited to take my kids to grandma's house.  It was so fun to see them running around the house like I used to when I was a kid.  

I loved that my kids knew my grandma and that she knew them. 

I especially loved seeing them play in the back yard with Haley and Reighn.

I remember when Jen died and grandma flew out for the funeral even though I know it was very hard for her because traveling was getting harder and last minute and unscheduled things were really hard for her.  We often talked about Jen on the phone and grandma sure missed her.

We had a family reunion in Utah that summer after Jen died.  I think that was the last time grandma came to Utah.  She loved family reunions and she loved having everyone together.  She would ask us all if we knew our cousins, we all got a kick out of that.  I loved how Ron said that no matter who came to the reunion she would say, well I wish everyone could have been here. 

This reunion was special because grandma got up and talked for a while.  She talked about growing up in Hyrum and I heard a lot of things that I hadn't heard before. 

I loved any chance I could get to have a picture with my kids and grandma Betty.

I remember when grandma broke her arm shortly after grandpa died. When we heard about it Mel and I decided to go visit her and help out.  We drove up there with EJ and Elijah.  I remember curling her hair and worrying because I know I didn't make it look as good and she would have.  I remember worrying about grandma when she couldn't sleep at night and was hearing her doorbell ring in the middle of the night.  I went out to visit her in hopes of helping and catching the person doing it (we aren't sure if that really happened.)  Keith was such a great husband to always encourage me to visit my grandma because he knew it was important to me.  I loved the time we spent alone together.  We would go out to lunch, go shopping and go to movies.  I loved shopping with her because she was very stylish and I would ask her opinion on things and she would give them to me, she usually didn't sugar coat things and I loved that, well most of the time.  

I remember sitting at the bar and talking while we worked on puzzles together.  It was so fun to have that one-on-one time with grandma.  This was when I went for her 86th birthday.  I had the feeling that I needed to go visit her and Keith encouraged me to do it.  

After I booked the ticket for her birthday I talked to my siblings and we decided to surprise my mom with a trip to Antioch for Mother's day and the best part is we would all be there and be together for a few days.  I'm so grateful we did this!  Almost every time I talked to grandma after this trip she would say, "remember when you guys all came and stayed at my house, I'm not sure why you did that, but I'm sure glad you did." 

It was so fun to have this time with grandma.  We went out to eat and to a movie with her. 

I loved sitting around and visiting, this time we were the adults instead of the kids running around.  

It was very hard for grandma to be alone for so many years.  She had such a hard time sleeping, I think because she hated being alone.  When she was really struggling sleeping and hearing the door bell in the middle of the night she said that one night she was crying and scared and she saw grandpa and he picked her up and held her and told her it would be okay.  I bet it was very hard for grandpa to watch her struggle.  I'm so grateful that they are together again and these mortal trials are over for grandma.

I sure lucked out with amazing women as my mom and grandma. 

I remember it getting harder and harder to talk to grandma on the phone.  She had a hard time remembering words and it was really hard to understand what she was saying.  It became a big guessing game.  Usually I had heard the stories from my mom, so I could help her finish her stories.   

I hate admitting that I haven't seen grandma in almost four years.  I think part of me feels some guilt about that.  I don't know why but I feel like this trip with my siblings was my goodbye trip and I didn't feel an urgency to visit her after that.  I felt strongly about those trips to see her that year.  I wish I could have lived by her and visited her all of the time, but since I didn't I wanted to remember her healthy and in her own home.  I hope she knows I love her and I never stopped thinking about her and praying for her. I'm so grateful for the wonderful relationship I had with both of my grandparents and all of the wonderful memories that I have with them. I'm grateful that they loved me and put in the time and effort to have that special relationship with me.  I can't wait to see them again and give them a huge hug!