I thought for a while before deciding on the correct word, and I've decided fascinated is the best way to describe it. In 1993, my grandma compiled my grandpa's journals, pictures, and other significant items from his life (certificates, newspaper clippings, letters) into this book. Sadly, I don't believe I paid much attention to it until lately. I used to just flip through and look at pictures, usually for pictures of my dad. But when I was in Salt Lake in March I began reading my grandma's book (she compiled one more recently) and decided to bring my copy of my grandpa's book home (I don't have my own copy of my grandma's book or hers would've come home with me too...).
Now I read a portion of it almost every day, and once I pick it up it's very hard to put down. Generally after reading a funny story, I feel the urge to pick up the phone and call my dad just to tell him I read it (he sat through some of this retelling on Sunday night), but generally I don't since he already lived all these stories...
What's interesting is his entries are generally very factual in nature (he was an engineer after all) and at some points entire years are skipped, but I can't seem to get enough of it. Maybe it's because I never got the chance to really know my grandpa--he suffered from Parkinson's that started before I was born and he died when I was only 9. Maybe it's because I know my aunts and uncles and it's fun to see the journey they took to get to who they are now. Maybe it's because I love remembering their house in Dallas as he describes the phases of construction. Maybe it's because it's fun to picture my dad as a 3-year-old playing with his dad's tools. But mostly I think it's because I'm fascinated with the man that was my grandpa--the love he had for my grandma (shown through many wonderful letters), the love he had for his children (shown by the details he included in his entries), and the love he had for his grandchildren (as far as I've read, only one has been born, but I can sense it even from just one).
It makes me sad that I never had the chance to really know this man in person, to hear him retell these stories, to see him interact with his family. But I am thankful that I have this book to give me a glimpse into his life and who he was...and I'm glad I still have 300 pages to go!
Side note: The book also gives me some encouragement. My journal entries are a bit more sporadic than his were and he has better excuses for his lapses, but the fact that I still find so much joy in the entries he did make helps me realize that every little bit counts, even if it's only once a year!
3 comments:
Jessica, I have read all of that book and agree it is wonderful. I met Grandpa Richards about a year before he died and he couldn't speak to me but he always had a twinkle in his eyes. After reading his journal I feel that I know who he was and as President Kimball once said. "Each of us is important to those who are near and dear to us and as our posterity read of our life’s experiences, they, too, will come to know and love us. And in that glorious day when our families are together in the eternities, we will already be acquainted”.
I am already acquainted with Grandpa Richards and love him deeply because of what I read. That's how I got my testimony of journal keeping. I haven''t read Grandma Vera's yet.
Julie
That's really neat that you have a book you can read to get to know your grandpa later. I always enjoy stories from when my parents were kids! How are you doing, by the way? It's been too long since we chatted!
I feel the same way about this book. It is a treasure.
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