Family Life Revealed

I can remember seeing the deep connection between my husband and our daughter the moment that she was born and I wonder what it was like the first time my own dad laid eyes on me. This is for my first love, my dad.

Looking back at the pictures of you and me when I was a baby makes me certain that we shared that same father-daughter love and adventure that Brandon and Autumn have. I can only imagine the fun we had together. There are a couple of pictures that I will forever have in my mind. In one you are are pushing me in a toy cart and another we are eating ice cream. In both you have a huge smile on your face and we are so happy! As I grew up we made memories that I can still remember, ones of wrestling together, playing games and cooking.

Unfortunately, things were not always so joyful between us and I am sorry. I am sorry for listening to things other people said about you even though they may not have been true and more importantly I am sorry for not always being a respectful daughter to you. You always deserve my utmost respect, no matter what.

Many things that I learned from you at a young age are characteristics that I still admire about you. You instilled in me a passion for learning and striving for both intellectual and “street smart” excellence, for working hard, playing hard and caring for others. All of these lessons I learned from your example. I love hearing you talk about science as well as learning new applicable life lessons. I am proud of the dedication you have put into the construction company and the things you accomplished in business as well as the way you work with your hands to build and fix things around the house! I am thankful for the times you showed me how to relax and have fun by going miniature golfing, wakeboarding, playing basketball together. Most of all I appreciate the way you always take care of people, myself included. Not only did you go above and beyond when providing for me but you are consistently there to help friends and  family when they need it. I have learned more from you than you know. Thank you.

I believe that it was so natural for me to love and admire Brandon because he is similar to you in so many ways. Although you are not the only man I now love, you, dad, will always be my first love.

When I have some “free me time” I usually choose to cook, bake or sew. My interest in these hobbies stems from my grandmother. As I was growing up she took time to teach me about these activities and mold me into the person I am today. I am able to make things from macaroni salad to quilts because of her instruction.

I admire how she organizes and plans out her cooking, produces a plethora of food in a timely manner and then brings the whole family together to enjoy it. It always seemed anti climatic to me that after a LONG day of cooking everyone would inhale the scrumptious food and be on their way; however, she graciously takes the compliments and treasures the few minutes before it is time to do dishes. All the while she does this with joy and never complains. Her attitude trained me to be a joyful servant in the kitchen and I appreciate that. One particular trade that I feel honored to have learned from her is canning jelly. I enjoy helping her make pomegranate jelly from the juice of the beautiful fruit off of my grandparent’s tree.

My grandma has also been a very positive example for me in my role as a wife. She is always eager to serve my grandpa and speak well of him! I am thankful for the fine example I have to look up to in my grandma!

Most people do not have the opportunity to meet their great-great-grandparents. Autumn has been blessed to have two great-great-grandmas living. One she will meet in a couple of weeks and the other is the subject of this encomium.

I will always remember the first time Autumn met her great-great-grandma Marsh. Autumn was still small enough that her great-great-grandma could hold her on her lap and it was such a precious sight to see! This woman who has lived so much of her life was holding this baby who has so much life to live. At that moment I realized that without great-great-grandma Marsh, Autumn would not be and I felt a deep gratitude for the things she had gone through and the life she has lived. Although I do not know her very well at all (she is Brandon’s great-grandma) I learned so much about her character that day. As she held Autumn on her lap she gave her advice about life that filled the room with laughter. She would say things like, “You rule the roost now!” and “If you don’t get your way, just stomp your feet!” Her humor at her age was such a delight to see. Then when she got quiet someone asked what she was thinking and she replied, “I am praying for Autumn.” It was a very special moment, one that extended blessing from one generation to those that follow.

We had the privilege to visit great-great-grandma Marsh again six months later and the interaction between her and Autumn was just as sweet. This time Autumn was much too big for great-great-grandma’s lap but they enjoyed the garden together and exchanged many smiles. As time may be drawing near to the end of one life on earth I want to preserve these memories for Autumn to have. Although she may not remember these times she will know that she has a GREAT-GREAT-grandma Marsh.