One Fun Day

We all have specific days that are emblazoned in our memories. Some of them are happy days, some of them are sad days, but they are there, ready to pop up unexpectedly. I have one such day spent with my Great-grandfather.

I could not have been more than ten years old. We had gone to Blanding, Utah to see my great-grandparents, Grandpa and Grandma Hurst. One day on this visit, I spent working outside with Grandpa Hurst.

It was probably a typical day for him. We worked in the yard and picked grapes in the grape arbor. The grape arbor was build around a frame with grapes growing up the sides and over the top so it was completely shaded when you went inside. We went into the root cellar and got potatoes and carrots out for dinner and took them into Grandma Hurst.

Then we worked together to make a bug catcher. We made a large flat square pan out of metal and then made a frame for it so it was about waist high for a grown-up. We filled the pan with sugar water and hung a light very close to it to attract and catch the bugs. We talked, or rather I talked, non stop and followed Grandpa Hurst around in the beautiful crisp spring air, feeling safe and happy.

That night, we sat on the back lawn eating dinner. Their house was far too small to have company inside for a meal. As we sat and visited and ate, someone commented on Grandpa Hurst’s fine bug catcher. Grandpa Hurst thanked him and said “I couldn’t have done it without Sandra.”

Now, you know and I know that a nine/ten year old girl working outside with an 80 year old man is no help. When I look back now, having moved closer to his end of the life spectrum, I know I must have been a great bother to him. However, he never made me feel that way and with that one simple statement immeasurably raised my self-esteem.

Knowing my great grandparents makes me one of the lucky ones. My great grandfather and great grandmother were George and Mary Hurst. I knew and loved both of them.