A few weeks before her death, a hospice worker asked my mom "how her husband was handling it", and my mom responded "as well as any man can, who is losing the romance of the century." It made the hospice worker tear up, but my mom told her that was the only honest way to describe their relationship.
A lot of people looked at the outside of their relationship and got it totally wrong. My mom Brendawas 6 feet tall--4 inches taller than my dad. She loved to talk, and could be very loud. He was (and is) very quiet, and would rather chew off his own foot than get into a confrontation. Many people thought that she "wore the pants" in the relationship, but that isn't true. My dad adored her, and she adored him--and they both put the other person's happiness as the most important priority--so they both won.
In my baby book, my mom wrote under this pictue: "That is a yawn, not crying--she is a very happy baby".
I am the oldest child, so I have the most memories of them. I am really grateful for that.
My parents worked hard to raise a family that loved each other and had fun together. We didn't argue or fight (very much) and we still have a great time when we get together.
This is my dad, with most of his kids, after we surprised him last Halloween.
I am deeply grateful that my parents were married in the Temple, and that our family is sealed together for eternity, so that even death cannot stop us from being a family.
