My grandma--my hero

I have been thinking a lot about heroes, lately. What is a hero? A hero is someone who is "distinguished by exceptional courage and nobility and strength." So, I have been thinking of those people in my life that are exactly that 'distinguished by exceptional courage and nobility and strength." There are many heroes in my life and I am so grateful for every single one of them.

As for today, I reflect on a very special hero. Nellie Marie Davis Averett. She is my grandma. She passed from this life exactly 3 years ago today. I can definitely say that she is my hero. Every time I was around my grandma, I felt her love. I miss her so much, but I know that she is in a far better place and sharing her amazing love to all. She had amazing strength. I loved her laugh. When you got grandma laughing--it was contagious. She loved sports. I don't remember to many times going to her home where she did not have sports on the television. She loved BYU and the Utah Jazz. She loved being around her family. Grandma smiled a lot--and I loved it. Grandma would be 96 this year. My grandma was deaf and had been since she was 18 months old.

The night that she passed from this life to the next was a sad but sweet moment. Mom, my sister-in-law, Jessica, and I were with Grandma when she took her last breath. It was so difficult, but the moments that lead up to that last breath was amazing.

Earlier in the week, Grandma had gone into a coma. She had fulfilled a great life and was ready to meet her sweetheart. We all felt that peaceful feeling that she would be leaving our presence soon. But, it was so difficult. On that Friday night, August 19th, Mom and I needed to run and errand. While we were out on our errand--I remember looking at my mom and noticed the tears in her eyes. She knew that her mom would be passing soon. We hurried back from our errand and went to my grandma's bedside. We did not leave her side--there is know way that we were going to leave her side. My mom kept praying that she would not pass that night since, it was Tanner's (my nephew) birthday. We called our family to let them know that it wouldn't be long. The wonderful people at Hospice were there helping us understand the events that were taking place and trying to prepare all of us.

My mom's sister and her family were also there. They have such strong feelings against the church. So, when the Hospice Chaplin (he happened to be LDS) asked if we would like grandma to have a blessing--we agreed and prayed hard that my aunt and her family would be okay with it. Their hearts were softened for a brief moment and they agreed. The next thing that happened was amazing. NOTE: remember my grandma is deaf. During the blessing, there were tears coming from the sides of her eyes. After the blessing, she mouthed "thank you." It was amazing!!! My grandma knew that we were there and what was happening. We knew that my grandma was hanging on for something. Personally, I feel that there were 3 things: my dad was on his way home from work and had not told her goodbye; Shad was trying to figure out if she should drive down the mountain to say his goodbye; and my mom was not yet ready for her to go.

My dad arrived and told her goodbye. Shad called and said that he would not make it in time and then, my mom--my dear sweet mom finally knew that it was time that her mom was to leave this earth. Shortly after midnight, my grandma took her last breath upon this earth. I am so grateful that I was there. At that moment, we witnessed the most amazing peacefulness, the most sweetness and the most tender feeling that I ever felt. I don't only believe that there is a life here after--I know without a shadow of a doubt that there is. I am so glad that I had that privilege and opportunity to be there for her last moments. I am glad that chose to be there. I love my grandma so much. She was an amazing person. She always would say, "Have Faith." She had amazing faith and I am so grateful that she was and is apart of my life.

Grandma, I love you!!!