Grandma's

In July I need to give my quarterly lesson and I want to do it on Grandma's. When we first moved to Kaysville, nine years ago, Sister Verla Harris gave a lesson on Grandma's and I have never forgotten it.

As daughters of God we have been given many titles, such as.. Wife,daughter, mother, friend but of all of them I think Grandma is the best. Grand kids love there grandma's so much and I think its because grandma's just love them. Grand kids are always safe with their grandma's. There is nothing to ever rebel against because they only want to love them. Grandma's never have too discipline the kids but they are such big influences to the kids. The most amazing part of it all is that the grandma doesn't have to be in the children's lives all the time. In fact a lot of grandma's live hundreds of miles away and don't see their grand kids to often and yet the grandma is the neatest most wonderful person ever.

The strangest part of preparing this lesson is that I cannot find any information on the subject of grandma. I would think that now days when grandparents are forced to take more active rolls in raising their grand kids that there wouldn't be more on it. You can find stories about grandma's but not on their rolls. Maybe there isn't a defined roll and maybe that's what makes grandma's so special. Maybe there roll is to fill in when needed and to just love these little children who come to this earth. Its a hard world out there and I can't imagine a more safe place to be than in the arms of a loving grandma who just loves me no matter what.

I did want to tell about my Grandma Jensen. My grandma if she was still alive she would be 118 on July 20th. She was born in 1891 and died October 31, 1986. For one thing I think she lived during an amazing time in the history of the world. There was so many changes that took place during that time and being the history fan that I am I wish I could pick her brain and hear all the amazing things that took place in her life. My grandma was thirty-four when she got married and my grandpa was twenty-one. Wow, what a woman. Not only did she marry a younger man but back then to not be married when you are thirty-four must have been very hard on her. My dad was her only child that lived. She had a daughter that was still born. I wonder how that must have effected her. She lived through the great depression and she sent her only child off to WWII. Her husband died around 1965 and so she lived many years as a widow. She came to live with us before I was born.

I was very lucky to have my grandma around me when I was very little. I have memories of sitting on her lap and her telling me about her life and telling me about her china hutch that had so many wonderful things that she had collected over the years. I could spend hours there. She also was my only babysitter growing up and as soon as my parents left she would get out the toast and put butter and brown sugar on it. It was so good and I have never had it since. I am saving it for my grand kids. Also my grandma would go up to the store to buy some groceries and she always carried a bag with her. We would wait in front yard by our tree and just wait for her to come down the street. When she got home she would open up her bag and like magic there was the most amazing things in it like; ice cream,Twinkies, cookies, ice cream sandwiches and candies. It was amazing!!!! My grandma always wore a blue dress and a apron. When I was about eight my grandma started showing signs of dementia and she quickly became someone else. I was always so sad because I wanted my grandma and I didn't understand what was going on. By the time I was in junior high we needed to put her in a rest home. I would go see her and my dad went to see her every day until the day she died. The worse she got the harder it was on me and being very immature I went to see her less and less. The day before she died the nursing home called and said she wasn't going to make it so we all went down to see her. She didn't look like my grandma. Her face was swollen and she was breathing so hard. It was very tough to see the lady you loved so much be so sick. She died the next day while I was at school. She was ninety-five. At her viewing they dressed her in a blue dress and fixed her up and she looked like my grandma again and she looked so peaceful. I think that was a gift from Heavenly Father to us just to let us know that our grandma wasn't suffering any more. Lately I have missed her so much. I wish I could go and see her and just talk to her. I want to feel her safe arms around me again. It has been so long. I guess that will have to wait until another time.