Thank You Very Much

My Grandma, Betty Mae McDermott Blair is an elect daughter of God. Grandma Bea is the type of person who does so much, touches so many peoples’ lives, is so kind to everyone she meets, and yet neither sought nor gained much attention. Grandma Bea has faced many trials in her life but has remained faithful through the good and the bad. I was blessed to grow up within walking distance from Grandma Bea’s house and as a result spent a great deal of time with her as a child and teenager.

Possibly some of my fondest memories with Grandma Bea have come in the last few months. My family and I were blessed to live with Grandma for 6 weeks and help take care of her during the sunset of her life. Here is one memory that I will keep close to my heart for the rest of my life. Each night at 3 am Grandma has to take a pill to control some pain she experiences as a result of a fall she took, shortly after Christmas, which broke her back. My angel mother spent many if not most nights for the past month waking up to give Grandma her medications in the middle of the night. However, my Mom and Dad took a much needed week-long trip to Mexico last month and the responsibility to watch over Grandma in the middle of the night fell to my wife Brittany. Each night Brittany would set an alarm for 3 am so she could wake up and give Grandma her pain medication. Because Grandma was not very mobile we kept a baby monitor in our room so we could hear her if she called out for us. This baby monitor would allow me to hear the following exchange each night at 3 am. BRITTANY: “Grandma, it’s time to take your pill. How are you feeling?” GRANDMA: “Thank you sweetheart, you do so much for me”. BRITTANY: “I love you Grandma, sleep well.” GRANDMA: “I love you too.” This simple exchange between my wife and my grandmother sounds so insignificant as I write about it here but it has had a profound impact on me and has increased my love for my wife, my mother, and my grandmother. Perhaps it is because of the joy that comes from serving other and sacrificing of yourself.

Today I am particularly grateful for my Grandma Bea. When my parents left for a 3 year mission in July of 2001, I felt very alone. I was not married and was beginning to feel like I never would be. My Grandma Bea became in many ways a mother to me and helped me cope at a hard time in my life. I knew without doubt that she loved me and that she was praying at least daily for me. I believe that her prayers helped guide me to find my wife Brittany and perhaps this is why the midnight exchanges between Grandma and Brittany that I mentioned above are so meaningful to me. Now as Grandma Bea begins her journey into the eternities and to her eternal reward I thank my Heavenly Father that I was able to spend the last 35 years learning from this angel among us. “Thank you very much, Thank you very much that the nicest thing that anyone’s ever done for me”

I love you Grandma Bea. -Scott