Thanksgiving

Our Thanksgiving holiday didn't exactly turn out as we had planned.

Actually, our plans were super lame. Since we completely tore apart our kitchen two weekends ago to start the big remodel, we had planned to do nothing other than plumbing, wiring, and maybe roughing in the kitchen cabinets. We planned to hit up some awesome buffet (like maybe Golden Corral or McDonald's) in town for a Thanksgiving feast if everything was going well. Then the phone rang on Tuesday night (while Keith was out macing deer).

It was my dad with the sad news that my grandpa had passed away.

Change of plans. My grandpa is/was one of the greatest influences of my life. I'm so incredibly proud to be his granddaughter. He was a total giant in my life--and I mean that in every sense of the word. He towered over me at nearly 6 and a half feet tall. Huge. His feet were massive and as kids we always laughed when he showed us his shoes. But even more than that, he had the biggest heart and most enormous spirit.

My grandpa was a fighter pilot in 3 wars and had endless stories to tell. He's been all over the world and had such a crazy sense of adventure. In addition to flying airplanes and fighter jets, he also rode motorcycles, skied like a pro (or a cowboy, depending on who you ask), and loved hang-gliding well into retirement. If anyone wonders where I get my sense of adventure, I can point a pretty straight line to my grandpa. He knew I had wanderlust as a kid and always fed my curiosity with stories of flying airplanes to far off places. I always dreamed of working for an airline so I could travel like my grandpa did. Never mind that he did it as a decorated pilot in the military--I didn't think that part of it was in my future. But I did hire pilots in my airline job and I did get to travel like he encouraged me to.

My grandpa retired as a Colonel in the Air National Guard. He was still in his 50's when he retired and his superiors asked him to reconsider. They offered to make him a General instead. But titles didn't matter to him and he had more important things to do. He went on to serve 2 missions for our church and worked in the Salt Lake Temple for 20 years. He also did huge amounts of family history work and wrote out his own life history. I'm telling you, this man was amazing.

So, I absolutely had to be there for the funeral. No question. But finding a last minute flight on the weekend before Thanksgiving? Not really. So on Thursday after Keith wrapped up work, we put the kids in the car and started driving.

In a weird twist of fate, we got a phone call somewhere in Missouri at 2 am from Keith's parents. Keith's grandma had just passed away. So, as it turned out, we were headed home for a double funeral. What are the chances?

THIRTY HOURS later (including an all-night drive shift by Keith) we pulled into Utah and crashed in a spare bedroom at my parents house. Totally exhausting.

As the weekend progressed, we learned that both funerals were going to be held on Monday. My grandpa's in Salt Lake, Keith's grandma's in Provo. I'll just say that it made the day really, really tough.

But I couldn't have missed this. My grandpa's funeral was so awesome. Such great tributes. And the cemetery was incredible. As a retired Colonel, he received full military honors. When we drove into the cemetery, we saw a line of men in uniform standing completely still as we all filed in. I can't even describe how awesome it was to see those men pay such an honor to my grandpa. Carrying his flag draped casket, so carefully folding the flag and presenting it to the family, saluting him, hearing the bugle and the 21-gun salute. All with careful military precision. It was something I will never forget.






I'm so grateful for the legacy of my grandpa. I'm so glad to have witnessed the honor that our country pays to it's great military and especially grateful to have seen that respect paid at the end of a long, full life rather than one cut short in the line of duty.

I had a lot to be thankful for this Thanksgiving. I tried not to think about the 30 hour drive we still had ahead of us to get back home. But even that didn't dampen the day as I enjoyed sweet memories of my grandpa, an unexpected week with family, and a real home cooked Thanksgiving dinner. It turned out way better than we had planned.