Tender Mercies.

This post means more to me than many others. I feel inadequate to share it yet I feel blessed that I was able to experience it firsthand.  I don't know how I could ever do this experience justice because as I look back I know how I felt when it happened but I want so badly for others to realize how much it meant to me. 

For those who know my Grandpa they would know that he is a man of few words and few emotions. He is the "Mr. Fix It" of the family and when anyone needs him he makes it a priority to be there.  My junior year of high school my Grandpa was diagnosed with cancer and I was devastated. I can recall the day I found out the news due to the fact that I was so upset that I backed up into another car while leaving my high school basketball practice. It seemed like my world was crashing down around me and I was not ready to let go. 

Years have gone by and after many operations, chemotherapy, and countless medications my Grandpa is still trying to be as strong as he can to be around for his kids and grandkids. He has always been a strong man and I admire that with all of my heart. Recently his health has made a not-so-great turn and I decided to move in with my grandparents to just be around. So far it has been such a great experience to just be around my grandparents and cherish every moment I have. 

This past weekend we made a trip up to Pine, AZ for some family pictures.  As my grandparents were packing up my Grandma was looking through photo albums and having me combine pictures together. It touched my heart to see Grandpa with his grandkids through the years. As I finished putting the pictures into the album I went into the kitchen and said, "Gramps come look at these pictures of us! They are pretty cute!"  He sat down and realized he needed his glasses so he went and grabbed them from his room and came back. We sat there in silence as I watched him examine each picture. As I sat there I was taken by surprise when Gramps quietly opened his mouth and said, "Alls I know is I that I have the best grandkids." My heart melted as I sat in that kitchen chair so surprised to hear my grandpa share the feelings of his heart. I sat there for a few moments more and then Grandpa got up and said to me, "Morgan, I have something else to show you. Come back here." I quietly followed him back to the back room where he pulled out another binder.  I opened the cover quickly realizing that it was a photo album of my Grandma through the many years of her life. We both sat in silence as I looked through it and commented on pictures here and there and he told me stories about my Grandma.  I suddenly stumbled upon these darling pictures of my Grandma around age 16 in a bathing suit on the beach. I was shocked and said to my Grandpa, "Look at grandma! Oh my goodness she is tiny!" He got a sheepish grin on his face and his eyes lit up. He motioned with his hands and said, "I used to be able to fit my hands just like this around her waist." I smiled and kept flipping through pages until finally I came across my grandparents' senior pictures. I gave one look at my Grandpa and I said, "Grandpa! You are a good looking guy, I think I have a crush on you!" to which he replied, "Well I have a crush on that girl in the picture next to me." My eyes filled with tears as I flipped through the rest of the pages trying to pretend like I could see the rest of the pictures. 

This memory will always be a tender mercy to me. I will always look back on this moment and know how much my Grandpa loved us Grandkids and our Grandma. I feel blessed that I was able to experience such a special moment that I will treasure forever by my sweet, soft-spoken Grandpa.  I am grateful for grandparents who love us and each other and have taught us so many life lessons. I will forever be blessed and grateful for them in my life.