So on Sunday January 26th, my family and I had just enjoyed a nice Sunday going to church and eating dinner at home this week because Rob's parents were up at the Litchfords. Rob decided it was about time our girls watch Nacho Libre so we decided to watch it together as a family.
They seemed to be enjoying it and in the middle of it I got a phone call from my mom. She said that they were down at my Grandpa Stevenson's house and that he had passed away. I just said "What?!" and then I couldn't talk anymore after that because I was crying so hard. My Grandpa's healthy was suffering during the summer. He'd had surgery and had to be in a rehab facility for a couple months before going home. He was not happy there. I was so scared then that he was going to leave us. I've never seen him so sad and defeated. But, he made it through it and was able to come home which lifted his spirits greatly. Ever since then though he's had to have someone with him constantly (so Nancy would have to find "babysitters" for him) and he couldn't really go anywhere or do much. Not the kind of existence anyone would enjoy and especially not Grandpa. He's so used to being active and enjoying every minute of life. He came to the family Christmas party the weekend after Christmas and seemed to be doing really well. He was happy and in good spirits and he and Nancy (mostly Nancy I'm sure) still managed to hand out gifts to everyone. It was so good that he was able to be with us all one last time. So to say that his passing was unexpected would be untrue, but at the same time it wasn't easy news to handle. Not that it ever would be.
I came out of the room to tell my family that my Grandpa had died so Rob turned off Nacho Libre and my sweet family did their best to comfort me. Cute Aivree drew me this picture the next day. It's a picture of our family and everyone is happy and has question marks by them except me, and I am crying. I asked her what the question marks meant and she said that they were all wondering how they could help me feel better because I was so sad. Sweetest thing ever.
I gotta say though, I was not doing well. For some reason, I was just really struggling with the loss of my Grandpa who has been in my life for 31 years. He has been such an incredibly positive influence in my life and it just seemed like the world was a less happy place without him in it. I also kept thinking about my Dad and how he'd now lost his mother and father. I posted Grandpa's obituary on Facebook and I got so many comments about people who knew him and grandma and what a great person he was...and the tears just kept coming.
His viewing was on Thursday night and this was major closure time for me. To see him there and the finality of it...it was hard to take. I just couldn't believe my wonderful, sweet Grandpa was gone. Anisten actually started crying at the viewing as well and she was hard to console, but it gave me something to focus on for a minute. It was good to see lots of friends and family who came to pay their respects.
The next day was the funeral and it was at my parent's Stake Center since, you know, my dad has some connections there. The grandkids were going to be singing a number and so we were supposed to arrive early to practice. Not much good that did because as soon as the music came on and my cousin Colby started playing the harmonica I lost it and singing wasn't going to happen. I seriously don't know why I was struggling so much. The funeral was really good and a good tribute to my Grandpa.
We went to the cemetery next and it was so so cool to see the military there with the gun salute and trumpet song. My Grandpa served in the medical area in the Navy during the Korean War and saw some pretty horrific and life changing things. There was a flag on my Grandpa's casket and they folded it up and gave it to Nancy. It was seriously amazing.
These pictures break my heart
After we went back to the Stake Center and were fed a delicious lunch from the my parent's Stake Relief Society. We were able to take home some beautiful flowers too because there were so many. It was a hard day, but it was also a good day. Knowing that my Grandpa has finally been reunited with my Grandma brings me so much joy. That is a reunion I wish I could have witnessed. I know Grandpa Gayle is in a better, happier place now and that I will get to see him again. How thankful I am for that knowledge and don't know how I would cope without it. This getting older thing is hard because that means the people who've always been in my life are also getting older and I'm not ready to say goodbye. Its a part of life though and this life is only a brief moment in our eternity.
I love you so much Grandpa and I'm so proud to be part of your posterity!
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