Our Grandpa Reed Higgins passed away in March. He is my mom's dad, and lived to be 93 years old. He is a wonderful person, and I grew to love him very much while sitting at his feet, listening to his stories of childhood adventures. As a young teenager, I would write down the stories he told me in my journal. I realized early how important it was to be with him. I made a conscious effort to spend time with him during my busy high school years and during my visits home from college. One of my favorite things was to sing with him and for him. Grandpa always made me feel like a million dollars when I sang for him. I had the privilege of singing at his memorial last week in Colorado. It was a beautiful service with a formal military salute.
For many years now, every time that I said goodbye to Grandpa Higgins and my grandma, I've acted as though it would be the last time I see them. I've tried to make my time with them special so that I have no regrets once they pass on. That is the main reason that we brought Tanner to Colorado last September. We spent as much time with all our grandparents as possible, and it was the last time I saw Grandpa Higgins. I'm so grateful we spent the time and money to do that. It was Tanner's only chance to see his great-grandpa.
(Sept, 2011)
(Sept, 2011)
(Sept, 2011)
This is the first time that any of my close relatives have died. For me personally, instead of it being a a time of sorrow or despair, it has been a time of solemness, gratitude and quiet joy. I didn't cry at the news of his passing because I knew his time was near and that it was God's will. But I have cried when thinking about the sweet times we had when I was younger, kind of in a "I am so grateful that I had those experiences with him" sort of cry.
(Jeremy, Tanner, me and my friend Stacy and her husband Dan)
(The Higgins cousins. No boys!)
(But now, there are boys since we have Jeremy and Tanner!)
My Dad made a swing for his grandkids. Tanner LOVED it!
We had nice visits with relatives and great food.
Tanner has taken a great interest in balls. And he loved spending time with his Papa.
We visited Grandma several times. Tanner could not stop looking at his great-grandma! He gazed and gazed at her, watched her slowly eat her food, following her hand as it moved from her bowl to her mouth. If she wasn't looking at him, he would tilt his head, break a smile and say "uh?" to get her attention.
Grandma and I sang songs for Tanner. As we sang, he joined with his two pitch melody "uh-uh-uh." It was a very special visit.
Tanner and I ended up traveling twice in March because of Janae's wedding in Utah two weeks before the memorial. (I'll try to make a post of the wedding once I get some pictures. Jeremy had our camera with him in China at the time). Anyway, this picture displays some of the challenges that come when traveling with a baby. Tanner is a wonderful traveler because he is such an easy baby. But the logistics of traveling with a baby is not easy. Doing things like going through security, taking diaper changing stops, and finding places for feedings is a constant challenge. All our stuff took up the entire row on the conveyor belt at security!
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