Almost worth getting sick

My Grandma and Grandpa Fraser are some of the best people I know. They are a great example of a good marriage and being strong members of the church. My grandma is so selfless and hard-working. My grandpa is so smart and funny and he knows so many things. They both care so much about their family. Last July we had a party for my mom's 50th birthday. The theme was "Things that happened in 1959." My grandparents represented Alaska being admitted to the Union.
Aren't they cute? My grandpa has some of the best stories, but we don't always take the time to listen to them. We are so busy sometimes we miss out on the stories about when he was 15 and he would take his dog and gun and hitchhike to go hunting. Or when he was a kid and traded his grandpa's sword (a real 4 foot sword from a war) and traded it to another kid for a horse. Or about the time when he opposed a bishop in stake conference. Or a billion others!

My grandpa has always had health problems and a few weeks ago he ended up in the hospital. He was transferred to a nursing home, which he was released from today. We all tried to visit him as much as possible. Scott and I were able to go visit him last night. We listened to his stories and were looking for an exit a little after ten, since we both had to work in the morning. Of course, none came. Grandpa is really good at keeping his stories going. We finally managed to sneak out about 10:45. When we were saying goodbye, he thanked us for coming. And then he said, "It is almost worth getting sick to be able to have so many good talks with my grandkids."

In the last couple of years when I have thought about the time when he will no longer be with us, I thought that I will probably regret not listening to him more. But I didn't think about what he has been missing out on by not being able to share his knowledge and experience. So remember, life is short!