My Amazing Grandmothers

I may be a bit prejudiced, but I believe I have the greatest Grandmothers ever created. I will apologize in advance to my Gramma Covington for using this picture as I know she won't like it, but it's the only one I have access to at the moment. I happen to think she looks beautiful, though.
I'd like to take a moment to tell you a bit about Celesta Mary Blackner Covington.
I am the oldest grandchild on my father's side of the family. I am the oldest child of her oldest child. Gramma likes to tell me about when I was a small baby, she and my Grampa would drive from Salt Lake down to Ephraim to watch my Dad play football at Snow College. She would hold me and play with me and every time she had to leave me, she would cry. I have loved hearing that my whole life. I have enjoyed a very close relationship with this woman my whole life. When I was a child, my parents divorced. It was hard for both of them to be single parents. I know my mother worried constantly that she wouldn't be able to give us alot of the "extras" that she wanted to. For those who are struggling as single parents, I hope your children have the kind of Grandparents that we had. I remember spending most of my summers at Gramma Covington's home. Her youngest child, Carla, just happens to be a year younger than me and Gramma has always referred to us as her twins. I can remember swimming passes that lasted all summer long. I remember tennis lessons that I'm ashamed to say I didn't really try at. I remember Donut Thursdays. See, Gramma always got her hair done on Thursday. For a long time, on her way home from getting her hair done, she would stop and buy a couple dozen donuts. It was heaven! As I got older, I got into more and more trouble--imagine that! I was a pretty rebellious teenager. My parents didn't know what to do with me. I didn't want to confide in them and didn't want to hear anything they had to say. Not so with Gramma, though. While I didn't tell her EVERYTHING going on, I was able to confide in her more than my parents. She did as much to help me through this troubled time as she could and it helped. I may not have taken her advice then, but I have remembered it. After I grew up--or should I say got older--I eventually went on a mission for my church. When I came home, I moved into their home and lived there for about 2 years. This was such a fun time for me. My Gramma and I were closer than ever. As I struggled through some health issues that kept me out of work for an entire summer, I spent time with her. I listened to her talk and I confided in her (alot more fully than I did as a teenager). She would get me out of bed and make me play games with her during the day. I can credit her with not allowing me to waste away. I honestly feel that I was able to get healthy because she made me get up each day and laugh. Now as I have children of my own, I am thrilled to see them sit on her lap and hug and kiss her. She has a special way with babies, you see. I can't think of anything more comforting than curling up in her lap and wish today that I could still do it. I am honored that my children know her and will have memories with her as well. What a strong woman I have had to look up to my whole life. Her faith in Our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ have changed my life in ways unimaginable. I have never known someone to have such a strong belief in the power of prayer. I don't doubt her as she tells me that she prays for each of her family members by name. And for our family, that's quite a prayer! I look at my family now, and I see her influence and her love evident in her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. She has a legacy that will be far reaching and I am proud to be part of that legacy. I love you, Gramma!

Now, I don't have access to a picture of my other Gramma, but I'd still like to write a little about her as well. Vauna Beth King Winn, born July 19, 1925, died December 25, 2009. She was a quiet woman. I have more memories of talking to my Grampa Winn in my earlier years than I do her. She was a steady force in my life, though. When my parents divorced, we went to live in her home. We lived there until I ended my 7th grade year. We spent time with them each summer though. When I was 19, I moved back into their home. I moved from an extremely volatile situation back into the quiet comfort of their home. I think I have lived in that home more years than I didn't. My Grampa died in 1995 in a car accident. My Gramma was injured in the same accident. When she came home, that was when our real closeness began. I was living in her home with my cousin. She was in a wheelchair for a while. I moved into a room upstairs at night so that she could call to me if she needed help. While it bothered her to do this to me, I welcomed it. I always teased her that she was getting me ready for when I had children. It was good preparation! As she healed, I began to realize strengths in her that I had overlooked before. I always thought that my Grampa was the strong one in their relationship. While that was true in many ways, I'm not so sure he could have lived without her quite as well. Her health was never good after that, and she was extremely lonely for her sweetheart, but she lived. She went to church every Sunday, until it became to hard for her. She sent birthday cards to us each birthday (sometimes a little late but it always came). She started crocheting clothes for dolls and made beautiful outfits for them. It wasn't uncommon for us to receive them for birthdays or Christmas too. When it became too hard for her to crochet, she did puzzles. I can remember her doing puzzles as a child and I am so glad she still had that past time available to her. I moved away from her about 9 years ago and wasn't able to see her as much as I wanted but I always tried to make time to visit her when I was in town. It's hard for me now to go up to Salt Lake and not drive by to visit. We lost her on Christmas last year. I believe she didn't want to spend another Christmas without her sweetheart and while I miss her, I am so glad she is reunited with him. My daughter has kept her close to me in many different little ways. We received a few pieces of her everyday silverware that she had most of my life. They have little flowers on them. Kayla insists Gramma Winn gave those to her and she is the only one that gets to use them. She talks about her at odd moments and always says she misses her Gramma Winn. She reminds me frequently that Gramma Winn lives in Heaven with Jesus now and I can't tell you the comfort it brings me to hear that. She also has left a great legacy in our family. We joke about her temper and her forgetfulness but I know that its something we all miss. We can also speak with confidence about her faith in Heavenly Father and His Son Jesus Christ. She loved her grandchildren so much and all of us KNEW it. I, for one, still know it.
So, you see, that I have two amazing women to look up to. Two amazing women to emulate. How lucky I am to have had this in my life. Thank you for indulging me in this long post. I felt they deserved to remembered today.