A Letter from my Grandma Platt

I have some fun memories of my grandma, Bernice Platt. I have written down some of my memories of her in a letter format, as if she has written it herself to my children about me.


Dear Great-Grandchildren,
When I think about your mother as a young girl coming to my house, I always laugh. Her bangs always hung long so I couldn't see her blue eyes. I always threatened to cut them with siscors, but was never allowed to touch them. That girl was a tease (hum, I wonder where she go that from. Probably me) and loved to torment me to no end. She would hop the wall from next door to come visit in the bitter cold of winter with no shoes on. If I would have collected all the nickles and dimes I threatened to make those kids pay everytime she and her cousins would come barefoot, I would have been quite rich. I loved the time we spent together cooking up my favorite recipes, not that I really followed one, of course. Most of the time we would just make things up as we went. We bottled hundreds of bottles of fruit, salsa and other goodies. We baked homemade bread, and yummy cookies. She wasn't very good at buttering my toast. I always had to spread it to the corners when she wasn't looking. Your mom was the worst food sampler I ever saw. One day when I'd had enough of her picking on my food before it was ready to eat, I called her a P-I-G. I loved the time spent playing cards with her and her cousins. My personal favorite was playing Hearts. The girls always accused me of cheating, but I think your mother was the worst of us all. I don't know if those girls really knew what playing cards meant to me. It helped me to forget for a while the constant pain I was in. Living in a wheel chair for many years was really rough. I couldn't do a lot of things myself and I had wonderful children and grandchildren who spent their time helping me do the things I couldn't do myself, like washing dishes, doing laundry, wheeling me around, helping me with personal bathroom needs, etc. Your mom loved going for rides on my lap when she was a lot younger.
And now a word or two of wisdom from an old Grandma:With all of the pain I was in and not being able to get around on my own, I still made it to church most every week. I loved the spirit that I felt there. I also love attending the temple and with the help of good neighbors and family, I was able to attend regularly when I was well enough to go. I loved the temple. It was a place I could go and forget the pain as well, knowing this was one thing I could do for others who couldn't help themselves. My faith and love in the Savior was what got me through a lot of things. I am here with Him and your great grandpa now and get to spend a lot of time learning and growing and helping in this great work that is going forward at a very fast pace. It never ends. It feels so good to be busy. We can't do it without your help, though. Always stay worthy and prepare yourselves to enter the temple when you are old enough. Remember the heritage you've been given. It is a legacy born of faith and love. I love my Savior, my family and this work. It's what life is all about. I love you very much. It is true. Families really are forever.Love,Your great grandma Platt (Bernice)