A Beautiful History

I did the neatest thing today; I read and organized (by date) the love letters my Great-Grandparents wrote to each other during their courtship and marriage.  A lot of their letters dated back to 1944, when my Grandfather served in World War II--my Grandpa was in the Navy and my Grandma was a nurse.

My Great-Grandparents were madly and hopelessly in love their entire lives. The love they described in letters and illustrated throughout life is a love most people only dream of having.  

My Great-Grandfather died when I was a baby but my Great-Grandma (G.G. is what we called her) lived until my senior year in high school.  She suffered from Alzheimer's the last few years of her life.  For six years, we went regularly to her unit to watch movies, paint nails, play games, tell stories, and.... even take dates to keep her company--we knew a boy was a keeper if he survived or even enjoyed these visits ;).  Visiting G.G. was one of my favorite activities in High School.  

I grew to deeply love my G.G. 

Alzheimer's is an unforgiving disease that slowly took her mind before taking her life.  At the end of her life, she was unable to remember previous conversations, our names, and  simple memories.  However, one thing she never forgot was her sweet husband.  Above her T.V. was a large picture of her husband.  We would ask her who the man was in the photograph and she would, sometimes with tears in her eyes, say: "Hello Wallace Austin Tuckett, you handsome man, you." 

Her sweetheart was the one person she never forgot her entire life.

Their letters and pictures are simply magical.

               

 

They danced all their years together and, I imagine, are dancing in the heavens together now.

They even regularly shared their glasses when they got older and sang their love song together for anniversaries 

(G.G. had a beautiful soprano voice). 

G.G.'s beauty radiated all the days of her life . 

This is the G.G. that I knew and love.  How grateful I am that she cherished and held onto those letters exchanged throughout her life between her and her sweetheart.  I learned more about a wonderful woman, wife, and mother that I did not have the privilege of knowing until her later years. I learned of a loving and charismatic father, husband, and grandfather that I never knew.  

AND I learned of a beautiful love story that proved to withstand the test of time.  

How am I so lucky to be related to such beautiful people with a beautiful history?

AZ

I went to AZ last week. 

It all started when the Jackson Girls attempted to make a quick break-away from our completely hectic schedules.  We all needed a break.
 At 6:45am, however, that idea quickly came to an abrupt halt. 
(I love the second pic. below: Good Morning Sunshines!)

No problem. Girl Power. (My mom rocks!) Rollin tires.  Handing off tools.

Benefit: I now know how to change a tire. YEAH! 

We met my Dad in Vegas.  

My family is my life, so this was one of the best parts of the week.

Family Bonding. Olympics. Pool. Relaxation. Vitamin D, Baby!

 

 

Cara-vanned to Queen Creek, AZ to stay with my Dad and one of my favorite Aunts.
(Dad has been working there for a few months.)
I LOVE spending time with my Dad.
My Aunt Jeanette is an absolute angel on Earth. 
He and my aunt are HILARIOUS. We kept each other laughing the entire week.

 

Caught up on all the Super-Hero Movies. 

(My parents are my Super-Heroes)

Mesa Temple 

 

 

My cousin, Becky (below), is a phenomenal mother.  
I loved playing with her and her kids every day. 
 We all (my aunt and sisters) would go  to the gym with Becky and her husband (THEY ARE RIPPED) each day.  One day, after two hours of working out, my aunt wanted to try an hour of Zumba.  We danced with all the other little Sexy Mesa Moms. We were laughing SO hard. 


 I really want a perfect little family of my own someday. 

 

I Love my Cousins. 

Growing up, my cousins were my life. Our imaginations ran wild together.

Years, miles, and responsibilities have now separated us, so it is always a joy to reunite when we can.

I was in Arizona last week but to be honest, my mind was also elsewhere...which was one of the main reasons I went.

Today, I Taught Myself.

 This afternoon, I promised my mom I would help her with a few things around the house in preparation for moving.  I ventured down to the basement to go through my bin of belongings to throw out what I did not want.  My bin proved to be a treasure trove filled with pictures, jerseys, trophies, love notes, and journals.  I was overcome with different emotions as I reminisced on past experiences and friendships.  I am so blessed.  I ended up not chucking anything : )

I sat on the storage room floor for at least an hour and a half reading through my journals, grinning from ear to ear as I read each entry.  I loved reading through my high school journals.  High school seems like ages ago.  In fact, I dropped my little sister off for volleyball this morning.  Four years ago, I was the one being dropped off for summer volleyball practices at Davis High.  Now, my life is consumed with entirely different responsibilities, people, and experiences. 

 Cherish life=we only have one shot at it, do not waste it.

  

 My journals included newspaper clippings from historic events (e.g. September 11), wonderful letters, personal feelings, learning experiences, pictures, tickets, hilarious stories, and my testimony on nearly every page.  I grew up writing in my journal.  And I am so grateful I did.  Today, I taught myself.   Ironic isn’t?  One would think it would be the other way around, now that I have more years and knowledge under my belt.  However, the pure and simple testimonies I consistently jotted down daily show a direct correlation to the noticeable elation I felt in my teenage years.   (Simplicity can be the best teacher.)

It's what you learn after you know it all that counts.

-Judith Kelman

 I am now a senior in college.  I will graduate next spring.  I want to continue living a life full of love, laughter, and passion.  I can still be ridiculously happy despite the hardships of life when I draw near to God and His Beloved Son. With God, we have every reason to be happy.

When life gives you a hundred reasons to cry, show life that you have a thousand reasons to smile.                          -unknown

Bucket List

During one of my work breaks, I decided to write out a bucket list for the next few years of my life.  This list ended up being a few pages longàLife is too short to waste away doing things you do not love to do.  

Aside from graduating from college, ‘camping’ in my own backyard with my husband (oh-getting married is in there too), making up a beautiful lullaby for my children, or buying a cute puppy,

I want to teach in Africa.

I had the opportunity to go to Africa, Egypt in particular, a year ago. 

The photograph below was taken the first second I crossed the border into Africa.  I could barely contain my enthusiasm. 

I must go back, for there are far too many places I have yet to experience.

Since middle school, one of my dreams has been to live in Africa for a short time and serve. (It would be even more worthwhile/safe if I could share this experience with my husband.)  I want to travel. I want to immerse myself with other cultures and peoples.  I want to see the world.

I want to make a difference.

Guess what? Next year, I will have an official teaching degree and I CAN TEACH!  Looks like I just need to a. get married and b. find some form of financial support for my dream.

AND someday (in many more years), I would love to start my own Charity Organization to benefit people all over the world.