When my Grandmother was 98 and had a heart attack, we "gathered" at the hospital. When the doctors and nurses came out shaking their heads, we didn't know what had happened. But then they figured out who we were and each of them (many) came up to us and said "Your Grandmother is the most remarkable woman I've ever met." We'd nod and say, "of course," to them and then we heard their reasons. They said things like: "She is so happy!", "She said I look tired and that she could scoot over and I could put my head down on her pillow for a minute.", "She said I looked hungry and in just a minute she'd get up to the kitchen and make me a piece of bread and butter." (growing up this was the cure for everything that ailed us.) "She said, she was really grateful for the good care we are taking of her and keeps telling me 'thank you.'" , "She said she'd never been in a place that was so nice and accomodating.", "She said isn't this a lovely room I have - it's so big!" "She said she was full and would I like to have some of this delicious food that they brought me?" Well, naturally we all just smiled and nodded - that was Grandma. She was the greatest at serving people. She cooked the most delicious bread and pies and food of anybody. She never walked anywhere, instead she had this little trot that took her everywhere - even well into her 90's. If someone needed help - she was there. She was a "visiting teacher" in our church for an uninterrupted 75+ years. She was primary president for 20 years - teaching, and requiring good behavior and memorization of scriptures. She could tell the best stories. She talked of her Mama and of going into the hills east of Taylor Idaho to run the cows or gather chokecherries in the rubber-tired wagon. She and Grandpa ran a beautiful farm of 80 acres in what is now suburban Idaho Falls. She was famous for her cooking. Twice a day she served a huge meal to "the men" who would come to work at seed time and harvest on their farm. The menu included turkey and pork and roast - each meal! And of course the bread and pasteries were heavenly. She was known as a kind, generous and gracious host.

So while Grandma was in the hospital (Doctor, will she be all right? I don't know, we've never seen a 98 year old survive a heart attack! - She lived to 100!), I thought about Grandma's example. I thought "If I was in the hospital because I had a HEART ATTACK I'd be whining and moaning and get me this and where's my meal and do you call this junk --food? I thought I'd probably be using bad words and making rude noises and thinking I was justified cuz I was old and had just had a HEART ATTACK. Well, I didn't like that picture of me in my mind at all. So, I decided that if when I'm really, really, really old and my memory and comprehension of what's going on around me is not quite reality, I had better start changing my behavior - pronto, so good behavior would be the habit I fell back into. So in the ensuing years (17 of them) I have tried - stress the word "tried" - to be more like Grandma. I stopped using bad words. I started to be more aware of peoples needs around me. I started to appreciate people who help me more than I did. I tried to stop being demanding and demanding and demanding. I haven't quite succeeded. I'm definitely a work in progress. I probably won't be as wonderful as Grandma. But I'll be better than I would have been without her example. She was really something special.