My Grandpa—Don Allen

I've been meaning to write about my grandpa, but I wanted to make sure that when I did I would have time to think about him and not just throw a quick post up. With that said...It's been two months since he passed away. And I miss him like crazy. Especially today. The first session of today's General Conference wrapped up with President Monson speaking about happiness, joy and love. His words brought my thoughts to grandpa.

There are things that I don't ever want to forget. Things he said, things he did, the way he loved and even his handwriting. My grandpa was known far and wide as a generous man and a kind man. No matter what, he would always make sure that if a belly needed to be fed, it went away full. And he would consistently leave people better than he found them. If there was one thing he was good at, it was loving. And if I had to name a second, it would be cooking and preparing meat that melted in your mouth.

He had many things that he would say—things I hope I will never forget. Here are a few favorites:
"Tia darlin'."
"Oh ya?!" (this was used after we were razzing him about something)
"Want to taste something good?"
"That's a pretty blouse." (he never called a top I was wearing a shirt or sweater, always a blouse)
"You want to know something, I sure love you." (he always wrapped his arms around me and pulled me close to say this—often times on a stool behind the counter at the store, one of his favorite places to sit)

He also loved to tell blond jokes. And stories. He was probably one of the best story-tellers and joke tellers around. I have heard the same jokes for the past few years and every time I had to laugh and tell him that was a good one. And now that he's gone, playing around in heaven and telling jokes up there, I'm glad that I heard those jokes over and over and over because they remind me of him. And I'll be able to tell them to my kids and pass along a part of their great-grandpa to them.

My grandpa had a twinkle in his eyes—one that when he was playing a joke on you or telling you a story, would come alive and dance in his blue eyes. You could always tell if he was up to something by looking at those eyes and seeing them sparkle.

One of the things I am going to miss the most is not having grandpa at my wedding. And the fact that he is not going to meet the man I love enough to marry. That was one thing I always wanted. For my grandpa to meet my husband. I was always curious about how he would take to him and if he would deem him as a keeper enough to marry one of his granddaughters. And while now I will not have that, I'm sure that when it comes to that time in life, I will weigh whole-heartedly the type of man he is and make sure his a good one. One my grandpa would love.