Funeral Talk P.S.

Funeral talk PS- I knew I was missing something! Here it is....

Shortly after my Grandpa's passing I thought about "being the person he would want me to be." That thought was quickly replaced by, "I love you just the way you are." And that's just what he would do. While he was an advocate for change and personal growth, he would be among the first to take us in his arms and tell us, "I love you just the way you are."

Grandpa's Funeral Talk

The following is the talk I gave at my Grandpa Morley's funeral, June 22, 2009 (it's not exactly the talk I gave, but pretty close! The complete transcribed version will be in the life history, handed out at the reunion)

First I would like to tell my family how humbled I am at the privilege of speaking today. Thanks family.

It was hard to see Grandpa lying in his casket last night (at the viewing) because he was so real to me, real to all of us. The past fews years I have had the opportunity to record his life history. Today I would like to share some examples from his life history about how the influenced him as a grandfather.

Grandpa's 4th birthday, Nov 14, 1918 was the day the WWI armistice was signed. However, on that day he was not out celebrating patriotism, he was out gathering all his friends in the neighborhood and bringing them home for a birthday party. As he said, "It was a surprise to my mother, but we had a good time."

"Had a good time" describes what it was like to go visit grandpa. A place where the front yard was the ideal size for playing red light, green light, the basement beckoned imaginative play, the swingset was the sturdiest around and a pineapple sherbet ice cream cone was never far behind.

As we grew older, Grandpa rejoiced in holding each new baby, and we enjoyed the chances to sit and visit him, often over a rootbeer float. He supported us and we all have pictures of important milestones in our lives, with Grandpa by our side, encouraging us on. And this last year of serving him and caring for him was truly a joy.

Also, when he was a little boy he liked to go to the hospital around the corner and visit and have lunch with the nurses. He became a favorite with more than one of them. That describes how Grandpa was with people. He saw people as individuals and treated them as such. While we were proud to be Jan's daughter or Joe's son, Grandpa never referred to us that way.

A couple of examples of Grandpa's personal touch in my own life. He knew I loved bananas so if he knew I was coming to visit, he would make sure he got some from the store. If I just dropped by but he had some, he would make sure I left with one. A few years back I spent a year in Taiwan, teaching English. Shortly before I left, I got a call one night from Grandpa. Channel 7 had a travel show about Taiwan and he thought I might like to watch it.

Grandpa's physical presence is no longer with but his influence lives on because we all have a part of Grandpa within us. Due to time contstraints, here are just a few examples:

Grandpa loved music: Marchelle, Erin, Deborah and Cristine all pursue degrees in Music
Grandpa believed in education: Christopher, Erin and myself have all pursued advanced degrees
Grandpa believed in serving community: Rob became a firefighter and Melanie started a choir at her local elementary school
Grandpa loved Joe Morley's BBQ- Brent and Nathan are now building their careers at a place Grandpa loved.
We love you Grandpa! In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.
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I rejoice in what a beautiful service it was. I rejoice in his life so well lived and in the gospel we all live by. And yet, I still miss him. Often. He was a big part of my life and I am so glad to know that the best is yet to come!

I Love You Grandpa

In the hours after my Grandpa Morley's passing, I don't exactly know how to feel, or how to put it into words. But I do know 2 things: I know the Plan of Salvation and I know I love my Grandpa.
This is the kind of man he was:

He was a GOOD man. For him, it's not a trite cliche. It's a perfect description of how he lived his life.

He lived a long time, 94 years. What I think is one of the greatest blessings about that is that so many 30+ great-grandchildren (more than that but not including babies) got to really know him. They will be able to remember him in years to come. What a blessing!

He didn't just live a clean life, he took to heart "abhor the appearance of evil" Enough said about that.....

He loved the simple things in life: Mormon Tabernacle Choir, Root Beer Floats, breakfast at Denny's, visits with old friends, his garden, etc.

And finally, more than anyone else I know, he found true joy in being with his family. The only time he ever missed a wedding, school program, graduation, etc was when his health didn't allow him. And he loved each of us for simply for who we were.

I love you Grandpa- see you later!!!!

3 posts

There are three posts that follow this so feel free to keep reading!!!

Hard Times and ImPerfection and Trust

This past week has been HARD. Not to mention emotional.......
You may already be aware of my looking for a roommmate (still looking, FYI) trying to clear my potential criminal background, etc then last week I was released from the RS presidency and called instead as the sacrament meeting chorister. I knew that a release was coming but I did not anticipate the chorister.

So, to sum it up I cried. At church on last Sunday (not yesterday). A lot. While I was leading the sacrament meeting singing. It wasn't one event just the breaking point for my emotional dam. Can I just that when you are crying that leading the music is NOT the place to be? Of course I think only a couple people were looking at me.....

That's the hard times, now for the imperfection. Going out on a limb here so bear with me..... Serving in this new calling is not easy for me- I am still trying to get my whole heart into it. I really miss working as part of a presidency- now basically going solo. I do enjoy music but I'm not necessarily passionate about it like many other members of my family. I don't aspire to improve my conducting skills- though I'm sure they could be improved.....

Yesterday was fast Sunday- I thought about gettign up but I felt somewhat guilty about getting up to bear my testimony and not having my complete heart in my calling. But then a dear sister got up and I don't even remember what she said, all I remember that she'd been having a hard time even in spite of the gospel and all that she had to be grateful for.

I have one thing to say about her message- liberating!!! Someone else had difficult feelings, it was comforting. Haven't you ever felt a thought like, "I thought I was the only who experienced/felt like that!" It was also a good reminder to me that I can be imperfect and yet be a fabulous individual!!!! Now, about trust? I had the distinct thought that much of the time, God isn't asking to take a life-changing step, he just asks us to Trust him. And I am grateful for opportunities that grow my trust.

I don't know all the reasons why God needs a music conductor, or especially why he needs me to do it, but I look forward to discovering why! Starting with a conducting session with my mom, who is a complete music professional. Yep, already got it scheduled.

To sum it up: It's Ok to cry, we all need each other, we all have hard times, we can be amazing people in spite of imperfections.

First Week of Work

My first week of working with boy with autism was equally challenging and rewarding. Some challenges I anticipated, others just cropped up. However, because there are challenges, every step forward feels HUGE.
I wanted to say more I didn't feel completely good about blogging about someone else's child in a somewhat public setting- but I would love to share so if you want to know more, call me/text me/e-mail me/or facebook message me.

There: got it all covered.

My (almost) Brush with the Law......

For my new job, working with the 6 year old boy with autism, let's call him Patrick, I get paid by the state. Which meant I had to pass a background check. Which I failed the first time. Why? The year I spent in Taiwan was unaccounted for. The solution? Call the Taiwanese embassy in DC and get some kind of a record to vouch for me not committing any crimes while in Taiwan.

There was defiinitely some initial freakout- ( I don't understand why this is happening to me!!!)but I was truly blessed to pull it together fairly quickly. Ironically, when I got the news that I had just been reading an article by President Packer in the New Era. He and his wife were traveling in Germany and his wife nearly got removed from the train for a problem with her passport. However, just before the train had left, President Packer recieved a 20 mark note from a missionary (actually, it was the future elder bednar) and when the train police (????) recieved the money, they left them alone. Moral of the story "if we live as we should the Lord will guide our lives" Not that I am promoting my lifestyle but.... the whole travel/law issue gave me a lot of comfort at that time- couldn't have asked for a better topic!

I spent nearly an hour with 2 embassies (DC and San Francisco) and got nowhere. No one had any idea about how to get a record that I didnt' commit a crime but said that if there was such a form, I would need to be in Taiwan to get it. Great! So I called the mom I work for, explained my dilemma and she called her support coordinator (the people that give them money to pay for me for helping with Patrick) and they agreed that if I provided a letter from the school where I taught and that I did not commit any crimes that year AND document my phone calls to the embassy, they would clear me. I understand why I had to jump through those hoops but still.....

Let me say it again- I AM NOT A CRIMINAL!!! Just in case you had any doubts.....