The big 5-0...

I need to update my blog. It's been awhile. Okay - what to write?

I turned the big 5 - 0 a couple of weeks ago, and it has caused me some time to do some serious reflection on my life. Wow, where have the years gone? It seems that the older I get, the faster time goes. A couple of days ago, my cute niece Kelsie came and saw me, along with her little girl Adalee. We were talking about life and things, and I remember I made the comment that when Adalee was 20, I would be 71. WOW. That about knocked my socks off.

I think about my kids, and their lives. It was so fun to go back to North Carolina recently and see all the kids there. It was great getting to hold and cuddle Hailey, Bella, and Rocco. I am SO excited for Chad and Cynthia's wedding coming up in May. And being out here in Utah - being around Holden and Hadlie, and soon Jett, has been a delight. That is one of the best benefits of being this age. Being a grandma.

Which brings me to what I really want to talk about today. My grandmothers.

My grandma Beckstead was a pistol. She was full of fire and hot sauce, I swear. She was such a tiny little thing, but she knew what she wanted, and she never backed down. She knew how to pinch a penny like no other. She always had a cake ready for us on Sunday's, and we always knew we could visit her AND Bob Barker any day of the week. (well, excluding weekends.) She had to be the biggest Jazz fan I knew.

I have a lot of Beckstead in me. I see where I get my "Well - I've been here for 30 minutes, it's time to leave" from. (Sound familiar, anyone?) She loved to shop.. (Yup - got that too.) And I always knew grandma loved me.

When grandma got sick, I remember at the very end I was back east living. She was staying with mom..and I remember calling her. She didn't remember much, but I called her one day, and sang to her, "Let Me Call You Sweetheart". She tried so hard to sing along with me. I will never forget the tears, or the memory. How I love my grandma Beckstead.

Grandma Nielsen. So many different memories. She taught me my first piano lessons. She was also the librarian at the elementary school that I attended, and she used to always let me go pick out books after school. She instilled in me a love of reading and a love of music. Grandma always made me feel like she wanted me there at her home. We would often walk to her house after school. We would play dress up - and she would watch us put on silly plays for hours.

Grandma always made me feel like I could do anything. She too, always could pinch a penny. Buy it, use it, wear it out, and then use it again. Both of my grandparents taught me to love my Savior, and instilled in my a great love of the gospel.

I miss them both. Now that I am a grandma, I can only hope that my grandchildren will love me as much as I loved these great women. Yes, It was "scary" for me to turn fifty. But with the wonderful examples I have had in my life - including my own sweet mother, I think I will be okay. It's funny how much smarter my mom is the older I have gotten.. =)

I am glad that I come from such a rich, sweet, wonderful heritage. I remember my grandparents telling me to "never to do anything to hurt my family name, for good people had worked hard to give me that name". I want them to know that I am so sorry for anything I have ever done to tarnish any of their names, and I have worked ever so hard to make that right.

I love them all.

Being a grandma, actually, is the best job in the world. Along with being a mom. =)