GRANDCHILDREN MEMORIES
We are all at least somewhat familiar with the traditional five love languages. Grandma had her own unique love languages. She showed her love through; Storytelling, Heartfelt Gift Giving, Exploring The World, Being a True Friend and Making the Mundane Magnificent. We have gathered stories and memories of Grandma from her grandkids that show these unique love languages. Grandma loved to tell stories. Whether you were sleeping over at her house, sleeping on top of the houseboat, driving on a long road trip…… or train ride. You inevitably heard one of Grandma’s stories. Ciera Some of my most cherished memories with Grandma are from when she would sing to us and tell us stories on top of the houseboat at Lake Powell. At night, when looking up at the stars and trying to go to sleep, grandma would sing us songs such as The Quartermasters Store and classic nursery rhymes. She was a great storyteller and she would tell us spooky stories that always had a funny ending, so they didn’t end up being so spooky. She would whisper quietly as she sang and told her stories and it was so soothing. Shay Grandma loved books and telling stories. When I was young, Grandma would call me every night and read the book Fantastic Mr. Fox to me over the phone while I was in bed. Every so often she would pause and ask me a question about the book. If I didn’t answer she knew I had fallen asleep. I would wake up with the phone in my bed the next morning and the next night we would go back a couple pages and start again. Another thing Grandma loved to do was to give gifts. I know this is one of the original love languages but her gifts felt different. Grandma listened to everything you said, and if you said you wanted something you were probably going to get it. She excelled at real heartfelt giving. Macey Grandma loved to take the grandkids shopping. She once bought me a pair of bright green shoes that I wanted and commented how we were both “shoe gals” Brayden I loved spending Christmas with Grandma, especially the family Christmas Eve party she always had. She would make up the funnest games for us to play as a family. Pictionary, gift exchange. She would also spend time picking out the most perfect present for each person. Harper I loved when Grandma let me pick out a Christmas ornament for her sleigh each year. My favorite ornament Grandma gave me is a cookie box. I can look at it and remember her. I just love Grandma Shay Grandma and Grandpa took me on a trip to the Tree of Life. I would say Disneyworld but that wasn’t the point. We were going to the Tree of Life and Disneyworld just happened to be in the same place. I had, and still do in large part to Grandma, a love for animals. Grandma bought me a replica of the Tree of Life. Ten years after my trip Grandma asked “do you remember that Tree of Life replica we bought you on your 8 year old trip?” I certainly did but I let her continue. “It looked just like the tree and had all these little animals standing around it, about yeigh high. You probably don’t.” I told her that I certainly do remember it and I actually still have it sitting on my dresser. She retorted “oh no you don’t!” I assured her I definitely do still have it and display it and when I got home that night I took a picture with it and sent it over to her. As a now 30 year old boy I still have that tree and still display it. Another one of Grandma’s love languages was exploring the world and sharing that with her grandkids. Crew I remember how grandma took us grandkids out into the world once we turned 8, on what she called our 8 year old trip. She would give us a gift we had to open which gave us clues about where we would be going on our 8 year old trip. One of my other cousins came along on my trip so I had a friend to experience it with. Later, I too became a “cousin friend” on another cousin’s 8 year old trip. Dax Grandma came up with great adventures for us grandkids and with those came great memories. Some of the most fun memories were when grandma and us grandkids would look back on the things that went wrong on a trip and laugh about them together! I remember the train breaking down on one of our trips or how I kept knocking over my drink each time we ate on that trip. Grandma and the grandkids loved reminiscing about these moments together. Griffyn On a road trip to Jackson Hole with the cousins, when I was little, Grandma got me to try Tacos for the first time at a Taco Bell we stopped at. I was hesitant about it but ended up eating several. Tacos have been one of my favorite foods ever since! Grandma encouraged her grandkids to try new things! Grandma wasn’t just a grandma to us grandkids. Grandma was a true friend to each and every one of us. She spent countless hours listening to us, playing games and toys with us and taking a genuine interest in our interests. If you ever needed somebody to have your back or lend a listening ear, Grandma was your girl. Makena My absolute favorite memory of my grandma was when I was super little and I would take a bath in her HUGE bathtub and play with little Smurf figurines while my grandma did her hair. Just me and her for hours in her bathroom laughing and smiling. Leighton Grandma always was the best listener. She would always hear me ramble about cheer & school & boys & and who knows what else but without fail she was always interested. My favorite part was she never failed to tell me how she felt about the situation. She would tell me how I deserved better, or how smart I was. She always reminded me of the best version of myself! Macey You could always count on Grandma when you were in a bind. One time there was a delivery mistake on a prom dress I ordered (it came in a “toddler size”) and grandma saved the day with a new dress. Mattie Grandma taught me how to find joy in the missteps of life. Whether it was a broken door on a train, a mixup in timing, car troubles, or something that you thought was going to go your way but didn’t, she always motivated me to find joy in those moments and laughter in those memories. Trey I loved just being with Grandma. I love to talk and she would sit and listen to me. After I finished talking for hours one night she smiled at me and said, “You are very loquacious”. I loved all the big words she used that I didn’t understand. Ciera I love grandma’s sense of humor. She found some of the simplest, silliest things funny. Such as the dancing, singing stuffed animals or funny flashing light up necklaces. She would wear those at night while at Disneyland. I love grandma's laugh. She has this deep belly laugh that doesn’t actually make any sound, but she would throw her head back, sometimes slap her leg and her whole body would bounce up and down. Every time she laughed, I would laugh. Not even because I was laughing at the same thing she was, but because I was getting so much joy out of her laughing. She also did this thing when one of her grandkids was doing something she found weird or off putting, oftentimes it would be Cade, she would say “Oh Gad! Cade, stop it! Stop that!” but she would be laughing at the same time. Finally, one of the most significant ways Grandma showed her love to her grandkids was through making the mundane magnificent. Even the most mundane things Grandma could turn into a memorable time. Cade Grandma was the best at entertaining all of her grandkids. I remember once the Davis's and I had slept at her house one summer and at the crack of dawn we were up and in her bed looking for some entertainment. She acted like she was speaking a different language she called Grandma-nese. It was perfect, we just hung out in their bed laughing while Grandma taught us Grandma-nese. I don’t know at what point in life Grandma learned Grandma-nese, whether that is something she had to study or if it is an inherent grandma trait but she must have been fluent in it. Barrett Grandma was always fun. She always did things to make boring stuff fun or an adventure. Like speaking our own language while waiting in long lines at Disneyland, or looking for cool landmarks on long car rides. Chance I loved playing board games with Grandma. She would play games with me for hours. Skip Bo, BS, Battleship. She came up to Idaho last New Years Eve and played games with our family until 2:00 in the morning. I know that Grandma has had a lasting impact on each and every one of us. No matter how many stories we tell we can’t do her love and the many ways she showed it justice. Grandma was an amazing grandma, mother and friend to all of us. To close I wanted to share a poem Kanyon wrote in memory of Grandma that sums up her love perfectly. I’m convinced My Grandma Molly was Magic. She could heal things with her gold ring, & from the palm of My hand she could pull an invisible string. A Funny thing to believe I know, but I think she too Knew it to be true. & soon it was clear That when Grandma was near, All Her Love oh so pure Was the real magic here. I Love You Always Grandma