Grandma's Legacy

I have never wanted to write a blog post less in my life. I'd give all the cookies in the cookie jar to not feel like I needed to get this out, but, sadly, I cannot.

My dad's side of the family is pretty intense. We're loud, but not rowdy, or rambunctious, we are just loud. We talk loud. We laugh loud. We have differing political views. We're all incredibly good looking. We love good food, and company. We come across a little too strong some times, but we're super loving. We debate, but never hate. We're together all the time. We make jokes about everything. We tell all the stories to everyone. Not in a gossipy way. Just because we're pretty damn funny. It's just what we do. Some people don't have the luxury of having close relationships on a personal level with ALL their aunts, uncles and cousins. I do. I could walk in the front door of any of their houses and start drinking the milk out of their fridge and it wouldn't seem out of the ordinary. I love my family. If you think I have good friends, you wouldn't BELIEVE how great my family is. Quirky. Easy to please. Smart people. Loving. Savage. That's us.

So I hate having to write this blog post, because I am not sure I can ever do my family justice. Not on the whole. Not individually.

I have to try though, at least in my own way. I have a lot to say, and it's going to be kind of word vomited, so just push on.

Tonight I lost my Grandma. Vicki Martin Savage. She was just a couple months short of 73. I'm going to be honest; that's not really old. On Thurdsay night about midnight, I got a call from my dad saying that my Grandma was in Washington (she lives in Utah) and might not make it through the night as her heart condition finally took it's toll.  My super awesome supportive wife packed our bags the next day (though she was recovering from surgery) and steadied me as we drove down to Utah to be with Family. My dad and Grandpa were going to drive her back to Utah if they could.

She took the time to call everyone and I got to tell her about getting straight A's for the first time in my life, and she told me a funny story. She was upbeat. I thought for sure she'd be ok. 11 years ago she was told she had less than a year to live from a dissected  aorta. She's been keeping on ever since. Occasionally things would happen, but she never seemed like she was ill. That's my Grandma. Optimism. Jokes. Playing Rook, or Phase 10, or Skip Bo with us, and playing to win. Always with love. Always laughing, but she did not like to lose.

So Saturday afternoon, I went to go be with my brothers and mom waiting for my dad to return and let us know we could go visit Grandma. When he was less than an hour away, he called and said we'd be able to come by that night as long as she wasn't too tired. They'd been playing word games and telling jokes. They got to the exit just before their home, and with two short breaths, she was gone.

For personal reasons, I won't get into how people reacted, but suffice it to say, many tears were shed, and, in true Savage form, many jokes were told.

So I want to talk really about two important things.

First, what defines my Grandma. She was always nice to everyone. Not in a "I don't say the bad things I think" kind of way. Simply in a "Let's be friends!" kind of way. She embraced the role of Grandma with all the power of her soul. She laughed easily. She told stories. She baked and cooked, and would sneak money and candy to her Grandkids when Grandpa said no. She thought she was stealthy, but, for all her good traits, she wasn't sneaky. She hugged everyone. She loved herself, and her family. She called us on our Birthdays, and would apologize for her singing (which was lovely for anyone, but especially an elderly woman.) She believed in everyone. She knew that if we tried things, we'd find we could do most things. She emphasized kindness. She just loved and loved and loved and loved and loved. She'd talk to strangers all the time about anything that made her laugh. That loving is a legacy that extends to my whole family. We're not perfect.  But I've yet to meet someone who doesn't spend some time around us and feel smothered by love. And teased, but we tease out of love, too. That's the way she was, and that has extended through three further generations.

Second, she had great faith, and I'm glad she did. It is through her line that my family for many generations has been taught the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. By her living her life well, and doing the little things, and teaching us by example that Church attendance, serving others and trying to be like Jesus is important and rewarding, she has left a posterity of children and grandchildren, and in the future many many great grand children who will love and serve their God. I know that there is a literal reuniting of our spirit with our some day perfect bodies of Flesh. Through the Atonement of Jesus Christ, my Grandma, and all of us, will live again.

"If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable. But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept. For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive." -1 Corinthians 15:19-22

"I am the Resurrection and the Life; he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live. And he that liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?" - Jesus Christ (John 11:25-26)

I hope that for those of you who have stumbled across my blog by chance, you recognize that there is SO much good in this world. One person has left a huge legacy of good, and each of us can do that. If you don't want kids or a family, it's probably because you're worried that you can't do what this woman did. You can.

And for those of you who know me, my hope is someday to have people read this and go, "You know, Scott sounds a lot like his Grandma." I can do no greater good than loving, serving, and having faith like this great woman, who, someday, I'll see again.

Love you Grandma!. :)