Grandpa Svedin

As a family we recently celebrated my Grandpa Svedin's 90th birthday. These two photos were taken by my cousin and were on display there. I love them and wanted to share them on my blog. The first picture captures perfectly the love and kindness that radiates from him. I love that he's wearing his overalls too because when I think of him that is what I picture him wearing. That, and a suit. Aside from keeping cows and chickens and growing a beautiful vegetable garden, he's been a Patriarch for the last 30+ years and served as a sealer in the Jordan River Temple for a number of years. He gave me my Patriarchal blessing and sealed Joel and me. He's a spiritual giant, and I am so grateful I get to call him Grandpa.
This picture speaks volumes: the clothes line that still has the rope he used to hang his chickens, the dark potato cellar that scared me to death because it was filled with black widows and who knows what else, the weeping willow, and all the other things the camera couldn't capture. I have many happy memories playing there. I loved playing with all the farm cats. I remember there was a honeysuckle tree that grew alongside the chicken coupe. I used to peak inside the coupe and watch the chickens sleeping, and I loved it when Grandpa raised baby chicks. I'd peek my head in and watch the cute little yellow fuzzy things. I always loved watching Grandpa milk the cows. There was a little stool the perfect size for a little child to sit on and watch. It sounds silly but to this day I actually don't mind the smell of cow manure. It reminds me of playing at Grandpa's. Grandpa also had a great wooden swing attached to one of his big trees. The yard was filled with the sounds of roosters, cows, and children laughing. Grandpa's house was the perfect place for little children to be children. We used to have a family fair there every 24th of July where each family would provide a game with candy prizes. My uncle Pete always had a water balloon dart game, and some years we had a water balloon sling shot. I most vividly remember, though, the slip'n'slide. I'd stand in line waiting anxiously for my turn because right before we went sliding Grandpa was there with the hose ready to spray us down with the ice cold water. It was wonderfully fun but oh so cold!

Grandpa's place is no more. Unfortunately, his humble little house was right in the middle of an area of South Jordan that's being commercially developed. My Aunt and Uncle lived right next to him, and they all sold their places about a year or so ago. Now all those wonderful memories are just that. It reminds me of the words in a song: "They paved paradise to put up a parking lot." But, even though his home is gone, I'd much rather have Grandpa around. I'm grateful he's still with us, and I'm grateful to have such wonderful Grandparents on both sides. I'm grateful for the precious memories they gave me and the legacy they left and are still leaving. Both my Grandmas have been gone for some time. They were wonderful people too. I was pretty young when they died, but I remember loving them. I'm named after my Grandma Stocking, and wouldn't you know it, it's uncanny the physical resemblance we have. My Grandpa Stocking is still around too and is 97 years old. He's amazingly healthy for his age. We're glad to have him too. I have wonderful memories of him and his place. I'll have to get a picture of him on here so I can brag about him too. Isn't it wonderful to have Grandparents that teach you amazing things simply by the lives they've lived? I could go on and on about how Grandpa Svedin served in WWII and received a purple heart or I could go on about his and Grandma's beautiful love story. I could go on and on about Grandpa Stocking and how he was the fire chief, a sheep Herder, worked at the original Riverton Motors, how he raised little children during the depression, what a hard worker he is, and on and on. I'll stop now. I'm just having fun reminiscing. I guess the thing I'm most grateful for is that my grandparents raised such wonderful children and they grew up, fell in love and decided to have their own little brood. I'm blessed with wonderful grandparents, parents, and now my own children. I have a lot to be thankful for.