My grandma

Yesterday, my dear sweet grandma, Margaret Dahl, passed away.  She would have been 95 in July.

It's hard to be too sad when someone that is 94 dies.  It's hard not to be a little sad though.

Because I love my grandma.

My grandma is the one in white in the picture below, holding my grandpa's hand.

I can't think about my grandma without thinking about my grandpa.  Theirs is a great love story.  It was evident my whole life, whenever I saw them, that they completely adored each other.

We lived close to them for most of my growing up years.  Grandma and Grandpa came over for birthdays and holidays and sometimes just Sunday dinner.  After we ate, Grandma always insisted on washing the dishes.

"I'll wash," she would say. "You know where everything goes and I don't."

I always thought washing the dishes was the worst job so I was always grateful she chose that job.

When we had the kitchen all clean, my grandma, mom, sisters and I would go into the living room where my dad and Grandpa were visiting and the boys were hanging on their every word.  We'd all sit there together for a little while, companionably.  Grandma would sit right next to Grandpa.  They'd hold hands.

Then Grandpa would put his hand on Grandma's knee.  He'd say, "Well, Margaret, do you think it's time we went home?"

She'd smile and say yes and he'd get off the couch, then help her up.  They'd walk hand in hand to their car.  Always a Cadillac.

Yesterday afternoon, in my mind's eye, my grandpa put his hand on my grandma's knee.  "Well, Margaret, do you think it's time we went home?"

I can't imagine how happy they are to be together again.  I'm brimming over with gratitude.  I'm grateful they are my grandparents.  I'm grateful families are forever.  I'm grateful for my Savior Jesus Christ.  Because He died and then lived, we can all live again.  Because of Him, there's a happy reunion in heaven right now.

A few years ago, in a rush of nostalgia, I wrote some about my Grandma and Grandpa Dahl:

Here, here, here, here and here.

I feel like the world is a little bit less because my grandma is no longer in it.

But more than that, I feel like the world is a better place because she was.  She raised seven children who love her and love each other.  She supported her husband, always.  She was a beacon of peace and serenity.  She was one of those people that is so thoroughly good she always seemed to make me want to be better and live up to her high opinion of all of her grandchildren.

Dear, dear Grandma, thank you.

Thank you for pumpkin chocolate chip cookies and red geraniums in your windows.  Thank you for saying an emphatic, "Well, I'll say!" when agreeing with something I did or said.  Thank you for complimenting me the first time you saw my two week old baby Braeden by saying, "I have always liked big babies best!" Thank you for raising my dad to be a good man.  Thank you for your example of goodness and service.  Thank you for modeling an eternal marriage.

Thank you.