I Love Grandparents

           I love grandparents!  The woman that made the biggest impact on my life was my Grandma Philpot.  Growing up there was not a moment in my life that she was not present.  She was my confidant, friend, and biggest cheerleader.  Grandma Philpot was the one constant in my life.  She saw something that no one else saw.

                Yesterday I had to finish a paper for a class yesterday on my reading experiences growing up; it turned into a love of my Grandma Philpot.  From stories, I have been told my she would have me on her bed “reading” the phonebook.  I do remember reading the Little House on the Prairie books with her.  I still have my paperback books that she gave me along with my hardbound copies of my favorite pioneer series. 

                My children do not live close to their grandparents and unfortunately never have.  Sometimes families cannot live close to each other to make a living.  I was blessed three months after moving to Lake Havasu to become Visiting Teaching partners with Kim Fronek.  This choice made by a Relief Society President change my life forever.  Kim and Sunnie wanted to have some grandkids live closer and really wanted a granddaughter.  They adopted us and we gladly were adopted.   When my Grandma Philpot died, Kim was the first person in Lake Havasu I called.  She spend hours making sure I was okay.

                Kim and Sunnie have been able to be the Grandparents my parents cannot be due to location.  They live here and make sure things are taken care of in Havasu.  The last four and a half years they have been my rock and more importantly been there for Tyler, Katie, and Noelle.  They have been able to be at most activities and this has made a huge impact on my children’s lives.  Last night, Kim knew I was not feeling well and she took my place at a mother daughter date.  How lucky my little girl was. 

                Grandparent’s matter, rather it is a text, phone call, Facebook message, or more importantly a prayer.  There are things that teenagers might not tell their parents because they are dumb, but somehow grandparents are much smarter than parents are.  There is not a day I have not thought of my grandparents.  I daily wish I could pick up the phone and call Grandma Philpot to talk to her and get her advice or just have her tell me everything would be okay.  

                Thank you to all of the grandparents out there.  You are awesome and what you do, do matter to those that love you.  You might not think you matter but you do.  I hope in many years when I become a grandma that I will be one like Grandma Philpot.  Sometimes I can hear her say, “I love you Floriepot, you are a Daughter of God.”