Sunday, December 18, 2011

The Most Magical Person I Know At the Most Magical Time of the Year





This is the season of Magic. There is so much Magic with Christmas. It is a time when the Spirit of giving, the Spirit of love, even the Spirit of Charity moves ever forward in the hearts of those who will let it. There is Magic in music and singing. There is Magic in the mystery of Santa Clause. There is Magic in Believing. There is Magic in Service and love. There is Magic in celebrating. There is Magic in amazing decorations. There is Magic. There is Magic.




I had the most Magical experience this weekend as I got to spend time with the most Magical Person I know. My 83 year old Granny, Renee Adams, is the definition of Magic. She is by far my favorite person on this planet. And being with her for any period of time is a gift. She is fiercely independent - and for an 83 year old woman, this is a thing to behold. She participates and maybe leads a great little group of Octagenarians plus called the 'FHE or lunch bunch'. They go to lunch and hold Family Home Evenings together. My Granny is one of the few drivers left in the group. She thinks on these women and cares for these women and worries about these women and takes so much from being a part. Just like she thinks on and worries for and cares for me, and all the rest of her children and grandchildren and great-grandchildren.


This weekend we had tickets to see the Mormon Tabernacle Choir Christmas concert on Friday night. My Granny made reservations for us to stay at Little America (myself, my parents and she) so we would not have to try to go home so late and could arrive downtown early. She is slow to walk and needed some extra time going in and so we got to the conference center 2 hours before the event began. And while I made funny complaints, what a blessing this was. I got to watch the magic of this woman in full force. She is incredibly social and can talk to anyone. She chatted with everyone around us - learned she was a neighbor to a cousin of the couple next to us, learned the group in front of us were hungry and unsuccessful in trying to obtain food from anywhere near the conference center. She saw an old friend - who was so delighted to see her - who came over and I watched and listened to my cute Granny check in with this woman - remembering so many details about her and delighting in the opportunity to catch up. My Granny is magic.

She lives in the moment and reacts in the moment. She ooohed and ahhed at all of the amazing parts of the concert. As we walked around, she reacted audibly to beautiful decorations and feelings of love and beauty. President Monson and President Uchtdorf were in attendance that night and when they walked in and the crowd rose and quieted to silence, my cute, short Granny stood as tall as she could on her tip toes to catch a glimpse of the Prophets forehead. Those moments of silence and that feeling of love and deep respect in a crowd of that size quieting to silence in the blink of an eye is always one of my favorite moments of any event which our leaders attend. Granny felt it too as she looked at me with her eyes welling with tears and whispered, That is respect' 'such respect'.


After the concert, my Dad and I ran to get the car and drove to pick up my mother and cute Granny and we drove the few blocks to our hotel. We changed into our pjs ordered a feast from room service and had a late night amazing dinner. We talked and laughed and enjoyed together - just my Granny and I. We were up late...and were surprised to have an alarm go off at 6am. And then couldn't go back to sleep so we laid in our respective beds chatting and talking. She told me magical stories about her life. She is so real about her life. Seeing the imperfections, but recognizing so fully the Lords hand in her life and His tender mercies. She began thinking of my Grandfather who died in 1992...about the Christmas after his death when my parents flew her to Arizona to visit the warmth and how the warmth of being there with our family was such a blessing to her. I remembered it well, as I received my Patriarchal Blessing that Christmas and was so grateful she could attend. She began remembering things about my amazing Grandfather. About his imperfections, his trials and his redemption in this life. Stories I had never heard. Beautiful musings of her incredible life. She listened intently to me talk about my life concerns and worries. We talked for hours and hours....and therein is the greatest Granny magic of all. When you are with her, you feel like you are the most important person in the world to her. She gives you her full attention. She cares about what you care about. She is glad to be in your company. She greets everyone with love, she parts from everyone with love. I love to watch her greet people who come to her house - she hugs and kisses and shares a moment unique to her relationship with THAT person with each person. She usually offers an immediate compliment when she first sees you...and it is so very genuine - you don't notice or remember that is the way of her magic....to see the best of you. And that she does, she is real and can empathize and help but she sees the best in everyone. She sees potential. She has the truest charitable heart.

There is so much more to her - she is so funny...and I can not count the number of times I have laughed so hard I cried with her. She is a crazy good cook and wants to feed you...always. She is a master at the details. She is a fine and elect lady. Her home is a sanctuary. It is how every home is meant to feel. Love, love of God, peace, tranquility...love, love, love. It is my favorite place to visit - it a favorite place to visit for so many. She is a good neighbor, a good citizen, a good friend, an amazing mother and grandmother. She is Magic.

There are not words enough to express my great love for this woman. I can not express how proud I am to be her eldest Granddaughter or how my heart swells just walking around with her on my arm. How blessed I am. She is the most Magical person I know.


PS - Pictures: At the top: Granny and I in 1995 (love my bangs!) going to the Glenn Miller concert evening - what fun!


Middle: This weekend at little America - (not loving my double chin!)


Middle 2: Obviously, her wedding to my Grandfather. I once asked her if she would ever marry again after my Grandfather had passed away and she looked at me like I was nuts, touched her wedding ring - and said - "I'm married. He is just waiting for me somewhere else." I've never forgotten that. That is eternal love. She still wears her wedding ring.


Bottom: Chilling in Oahu, Hawaii. There are so many facets to this amazing woman - there is no way to capture them in all in words or pictures.