81

My fathers parents were gone from this earth by the time I was born.
I never knew them in the flesh.

My fathers adopted sister left this earth when I was 16.
She was my “grandmother” figure from that side of the family.
Strongest memory: Always eating spaghetti dinner at her house.
We still enjoy her incredible spaghetti sauce recipe today.

My mothers father passed away when I was pregnant with my youngest daughter.
We buried him on a snowy March day.
Strongest memory: his sign of affection was a slug in the arm. He loved me very much.

Evans father passed away early at the age of 58, succumbing to his battle with cancer.
There has not been a time over the 18 years he has been gone that he has not been missed.
Strongest memory: His playful nature and absolute, undying love for my daughters.

My grandmother was determined to make it to see Y2K come.
She missed it by 2 years.
Strongest memory: spending my birthday at her bedside with my family, cousins, aunt and uncle.
She passed away the next day.

With the exception of my paternal grandparents, I have had a personal relationship with each of these individuals.
There are so many ancestors that I have not met.
But I have come to know them as I have dabbled in family history.
What a rich and rewarding activity this has been.
Moreover, I have deepened our ties by taking names to the temple.

In June, the single adult ward where Evan & I serve,
participated in our Single Adult Millennial Day (at the temple).
We were encouraged to take family names to the temple and spend the day.
I placed several card in the box set aside for the stake.
At the end of the day… 81 ordinances were performed for our family alone,
81 !!