The Andersons

Stan and Mary. Stan and Mary Anderson were my parents' best friends. They even lived together at BYU - just two couples sharing an apartment. I heard about "Stan and Mary" quite a bit growing up, but I never really knew them. We lived in Utah, they live in California. But tonight my mom and I spent some time with them. We spent the afternoon chatting with Mary and their daughter McCall. Then Stan came home. When he walked in, immediately he reminded me of my dad. Shortly after he got home we went to dinner. When my mom and I got to the car, I commented on how much Stan reminded me of my dad. My mom said, "Well, they were best friends!" We enjoyed dinner together. And Stan reminded me even more of my dad - the yellow and blue plaid, button down shirt he was wearing, the way his eyes squinted when he smiled, the way he carried a paper calendar because "I just do the electronic calendars," the was he lit up when we talked about muscle cars, and even the way he folded his arms and rubbed the skin on his forearm. It was kind of unreal. I loved every minute of dinner. I'm thankful for the time I got spend talking and laughing with Stan, Mary, and McCall. After dinner, when my mom and I got in our car to drive away, I lost it. I cried. I miss my dad so much! And while it hurt a little to have such an intense reminder, I'm thankful for the memories I have of my dad.