Charlie

I have mentioned several times that I made out like a bandit in the in-law dept.  I have told you about my cute little mother-in-law from time to time.  She is quite a little bundle of energy and inspiration    . . . . . a tiny one, but like president Kimball, she is packed with lots of great qualities and love for others.

She actually joined our family about four months after I did!  Jon's dad, Charlie had been courting her for some time when Jon I got married and I guess that is about the time when they decided to tie the knot themselves.  I found out years later that Jeanne didn't come to our wedding since Charlie didn't want to detract from "my special day".  Oh how I would have loved to have had a distraction!  Did not like feeling like I was a pet on parade.  That was kind of Charlie and very much like him, except when he was being a tease and pulling stuff on who ever had inspired him.

I got the biggest laugh the night we were sitting around the dinner table and Jon found out that his dad had won big time points for him.  He just saw Dad. I saw a very sweet old guy who had a great love for the gospel and had raised a sweet man for me to trap . . .  I mean marry and spend eternity with.  I knew from talking to Jon that integrity should have been Charlie's name and that he would be a great grandfather for our kids.

I got to thinking about him yesterday while I was replanting some cabbage plants that haven't formed heads.  He was the one that taught me the trick of planting them deeper to force the head formation.  He taught me quite a bit about gardening while he was alive, especially while we lived in Thatcher.  I still use a lot of his tips and they always seem to work.  I did make him a little jealous while we lived in Holbrook and I could grow big tomatoes like crazy without dealing with wilt.  He could grow everything else in Thatcher, even cherry tomatoes, just not those blasted regular tomatoes!

Our second summer there, he would walk up to our house after naps, cruise through our pathetic little garden, pull some weeds for me (I was very pregnant with Rob & Jon was working from sun up to sun down on the mountain).  He would give Mariah some real fun, which she looked forward to seeing that her mom was very big, hot, miserable and not a happy camper!

Our last night there, when Rob was only 4 weeks old, Jeanne was over there trying to help me get the last few things boxed up, Connie might have also been there.  Rob had just been hauled all over and had such a miserable start that he was quite beside himself.  He fussed and mussed and just wanted to sleep.  He couldn't quite drop off with all the chaos and poor Grandpa Charlie wanted to help so badly.  I walked into the living room and saw him holding Rob, looking at him so intently with tears running down his cheeks.  I knew he was really going to  miss Mariah, they had become such good buds and now we were moving away and taking the first (and only, though we didn't know it at the time) grandchild to carry the Huish name on.  I had to leave the room to keep from joining him.  I loved living so close to them and to the Keiths, Jon's sister and family.  It was a hard move, but it also ended a financial nightmare we had been dealing with the whole time we lived there.

Ever since, I have tried to create the beautiful edible flower garden like Charlie had.  Each year I spend way more money than I should to get the annuals, just to manage to have enough to survive the heat.  I am a long way off, but when I get discouraged, I just close my eyes and picture his and Jeanne's yard and get back to work.  Hopefully, I will make him proud of my efforts and he will know how much I did and still appreciate all that he taught me!