Tonight I was making mashed potatoes and as I was draining the water out, the steam rushed up and the smell overwhelmed me. I thought of my Grandma Rowley, one of my favorite people. I realized that I don't really think of her as much as I ought to. She lived a good life and was a wonderful woman.
I lived at her house several months before she passed away. I was only 19 and looking back I was pretty selfish. I was happy to live with her in the house I loved and I wanted to help out but toward the end it got kind of hard for me. She couldn't talk for the last few months and we would just sit in the living room together. I felt awkward talking because she couldn't respond, which is so dumb now that I think of it. I should have talked or sang or whatever. I just studied or read. Dumb.
That is one of the biggest regrets I have in my life.
Grandma raised four boys into amazing men, always had an organized house, studied her scriptures faithfully, was a temple worker for YEARS and served in many church callings faithfully. (I still meet people here in Cedar that remember when she was the Stake Relief Society President.) These are a few things that I want to work on in my life. If I could accomplish half of what she did, I would be a blessed woman.
Last week Sheri Dew came to Cedar and gave a fireside. (It was amazing, but that is another post.) She talked about the influence her grandmother had on her life. She basically said, "How can you measure that influence?" I've thought about that a lot. How can we measure the influence, good or bad, we will have on people around us, especially on our children. We can't measure it, really, but we can realize that as woman we have great power to aid those around us and hopefully influence their lives for good.
Lois Pearl Robison Rowley was an elect lady. I want to be like her someday.
