This weekend was a busy one, what with it being Memorial Day weekend and all that. I got to work on monday, which meant I got paid time and a half, and had nothing else happened this weekend, I would talk all about that. However, it is less on my mind than so many other things that happened yesterday.

My grandfather on my mom's side passed away a year and a half ago. I didn't make a huge deal about it then because although I went to the funeral and understood all the words that were

spoken it didn't really sink in until this past school year when I wanted to talk to him and couldn't. It was at that point, when I wanted to give him a call on the phone and knew that it wouldn't be possible to do that, that it sank in he was gone. I was sad, but not overly so, it was and is a part of life. I think about that after this weekend because we went to his grave on Monday. He served in Vietnam so it was fitting to remember him on a day set apart for the country to remember all our heros, both the sung and the unsung. Although cemeteries can be a place of sorrow, they don't have to be a place of unbearable sorrow and that is how our visit to my grandfather's grave was yesterday. My grandma was sad and cried a little, which made me cry a little as well, but she was positive about it all as well. As we looked at the plaque my grandma commented on how much of a hassle it had been to get right (and it still isn't because my grandpa was born on the 17, not the 7) but she also talked about how it had to be fixed because grandaddy wouldn't have liked it the other way and mused about how much he cared if his birthday wasn't right on the plate. It was a touching cemetery to be at on Memorial Day since it is a national cemetery, so there were many out commemorating the armed forces. There was even a couple who brought doves to be released in honor of those who had already passed on. I got parts of the release, but I don't know if I got the speech one of the owners gave before they released them, I don't think i was close enough, but it was touching nonetheless.

Something else that made yesterday different from any other day, was the passing of my other grandfather. He has been ailing for some time now, and especially after he fell and broke his hip, we didn't know if we should expect a recovery. My dad drove up on saturday to be with him and to help his mom, and my brother went with him because he hasn't seen my grandpa in a long time and wanted the chance to see him again before he died. We received news of his passing right as we began our caravan up to the cemetery to visit my other grandpa so it perhaps tinged the visit with a little more sorrow than we would otherwise have had.

My brother was the first to spread the news to those of us still in Arizona saying simply enough that "Grandpa just passed." It surprised me a little that he had, but it didn't shock me (which always seems to be better: if you aren't caught off guard). It wasn't until we received a text from my dad saying "Grandpa Carnahan's spirit has crossed to the next step in Heavenly Father's plan," that it truly began to sink in. and I am actually really grateful to my dad for sending that text and stating it in such a way. His text touched me in a way my brother's didn't. It was straight forward that my grandpa is no longer with us, but it was also a reminder that because of the gospel of Jesus Christ, we don't always have to be separated. Since we have been sealed for time and all eternity, when I die, he will still be a part of my family, and I will still be a part of his family, and I will be able to talk to him again. It is something for which I can be eternally grateful to my Heavenly Father for thinking up and providing a way to achieve that.

The funeral will be this coming saturday, and although we will be joining for a somewhat sad occasion, I am excited. I will get to see family again, and perhaps meet family I didn't know I had. I have realized that although I love Arizona dearly and need to come back yearly for a re-boost, I have begun to fall in love with Utah as well, so I am glad to be going up to Utah just to be there. But out of all the things I am excited about, I am most excited about the funeral itself. I have been to funeral before, either of classmates, or of my other grandfather, but I have never (that I can remember clearly) been to a Mormon funeral before. I want to notice the differences between the two types of funerals and I want to listen to the spirit and gain understanding into our Heavenly Father's plan for us. I want to see the joy mixed in with the sorrow and the support I will feel from friends and family alike. I know that as time progresses I will realize how much I miss my grandpa, but I'm glad it won't be an overwhelming pain which disables me. I can look forward to seeing him again and know that he is no longer in pain but in a better place.

I only wish I had a good photo of my grandpa to commemorate him as well as my other grandfather above.