Grandparents

Lately, I have been feeling really grateful for the wisdom of grandparents. I feel incredibly blessed to have grown up near both sets of my grandparents, and continue to draw upon wisdom and advice they have given me all throughout my life. I am also so grateful for Jason's grandparents. They are all such examples to me, and I really enjoy hearing Jason speak so lovingly of all that they have taught him. We could really learn a thing or two from our "elders"! Jason's Grandpa Dean occasionally likes to send letters to all of his grand kids and family about certain things that he feels inspired to share. We absolutely cherish these letters - they help us to renew our commitment to certain aspects of the Gospel that are so simple, yet so important.
As I was thinking tonight about how blessed we are to have learned all that we have from grandparents, this poem came to mind. My sweet Grandpa Pratt shares this poem in almost every talk he gives and every family gathering we have. I hope to be able to continue this tradition. This poem never fails to bring tears to my eyes, no matter how many times I hear it. I could go on and on about what it means to me, but I'll let it speak for itself:

When I'm alone I often think of an old house on the hill
Of a big yard hedged in roses where we ran and played at will
And when the night time brought us home, hushing our merry din
Mother would look around and ask "are all the children in?"
Well it's been many a year now and the old house on the hill
No longer has my mother's care and the yard is still, so still
But if I listen I can hear it all, no matter how long it's been
I seem to hear my mother ask "are all the children in?"
And I wonder when the curtain falls on that last earthly day
When we say goodbye to all of this - to our pain and work and play
When we step across the river, where mother so long has been
Will we hear her ask a final time "are all the children in?"