- Tell me about your father (his name, birth date, birthplace, parents, and so on). Share some memories you have of your father.
My dad's name is Clay James Smith. He was born on September 20th, 1968 in Salt Lake City, Utah to Pamela Jane and Don Mack Smith. He grew up in Utah with 10 brothers and sisters, who he would tell us stories about every night before bed as "Daddy Stories". After high school he went to Snow College on a football scholarship, then on a two year mission in the Lima North Mission in Peru. After his mission, he started courting, dating, and then eventualy married his best friend's little sister, my mom, in the Manti Utah temple on October 2nd, 1992. Two and a half years later I was born, their first daughter!
Growing up I remember thinking my dad was the tallest, strongest man in the whole world. He could lift anything, fix anything, and scare away all the bad guys. I remember riding around on his shoulders and dancing on top of his feet. When I was 4 1/2, he got into a graduate school in Houston, Texas, and we moved down there for a few years. I remember a few times emailing him while he was at school and getting so excited when he emailed back. I also remember him practicing his physical therapist skills on me before tests and laughing.
My dad has always been the funny guy, and growing up I was always laughing at his jokes and trying to be funny like dad. He was always making dumb little jokes that I thought were the funniest things in the world. I think I got my sense of humor mostly from my dad and listening to him tease. Now we both joke together and it is so much fun.
Dad always made sure we all had special time with him, and I have so many fun memories of daddy-daughter dates and outings together. He took me to dances, out to dinner, bowling with other daddy-daughter pairs, and even now that I'm married with a little family of my own, he took me out to lunch a few months ago and then we made a cheesecake together.
My most favorite memory of my dad from growing up is that he would come into my room every night before I went to bed, and I would tell him all about my day, what was going on at school and with my friends, questions I had, and just my thoughts in general. He would sit and listen as I spilled everything, and he would give me advice and support, then we would pray together. When I moved away to college, I realized just how special those times were, and I missed talking to my dad every night. I knew he was always so busy, and exausted too, but he made special time for me every night and I loved that.
Now as an adullt, wife and mother, it's so nice to be able to talk to my dad as an adult and appreciate even more the wisdom and advice I can always get. It's funny, but I'm pretty sure no matter how old I get, my dad will always be just that- my dad. I'll be 65 and still calling my dad for advice.
2. Tell me about your mother (her name, birth date, birthplace, parents, and so on). Share some memories you have of your mother.
Genene Mather was born on November 26th, 1972 to Sharee Genene and Garth Henry Mather in Provo, Utah. She was the fourth child of eleven kids, and the first of five girls. She grew up for the first few years in Provo, where my grandpa worked at BYU Provo, and then they moved to Highland, just a few blocks away from my dad. She went to school there, and we've heard so many stories growing up about their little house in Provo with her siblings and friends, and being on the dance team, doing gymnastics, and being a cheerleader. I always thought it was funny that my dad was a football/basketball star and my mom was a cheerleader.
I remember my first years of life having so much fun with my Mommy. We went on walks, fed the ducks, went to the library, played dress up, walked to the park, cooked dinner, did dishes, and so many other things. I always thought she was the prettiest woman in the whole world. No one could ever be prettier than my Mommy. I always played with her jewelry and pretty things.
Looking back, my favorite memory of me and my mom was our after school talks. Much like my dad set aside time for me at night, my mom would listen to me after school every day for at least 45 minutes while I was the only one home. I would tell her about everything, going through the day in my head trying to think of cool things or funny stories from my school day. I loved being able to sit while I was snacking and knowing that I had my mom's full attention every afternoon.
When I went to college, I really missed telling my mom everything, and I would call her all the time. Gradually though, I started getting really stressed out and overwhelmed with life, and for some reason the part of my life I decide to cut out was talking to my mom every day. I wil never forgive myself for cutting her out and neglecting the relationship she had worked so hard to build for 18 years. I remember even lashing out once telling my mom to stop bugging me so much, without even realizing that what I needed was actually to open up to her more. We had a really rough patch for quite a few months that took a lot of time, tears and pain to iron out.
Now, though, I feel like I can talk to my mom about pretty much anything. She's been there for me in the hardest times of my life, carried me through experiences that I thought would destroy me, and had always known just what I needed to make it through my roughest days. After Ethan, I consider my mom to be my best friend. Especially now that I'm a mom too, I appreciate so much all the work and sweat and blood and tears she has put into raising me. She has sacrificed so much, and continues to sacrifice so much for me and my family to stay safe and loved.
I have no idea where I would be without my incredible parents. I have been so, so blessed.
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