Last week was such a reflection of President Hinckley's life for me, I wanted to say a few things. There were probably 10 pages devoted to him in both the SL trib and the herald. I read both. I listened to news stories, tried to see the viewing (by the time we got there on Friday it was as 3-4 hour wait outside and we knew that just wouldn’t go with Parker so we went home) and I watched the funeral on Saturday. I was thankful to live in Salt Lake at this time because I really felt a sense of community with his passing and not just with LDS members. He touched so many lives because of his attitude of friendship and inclusion- because he reached out to those of other faiths and sought the media and sought to help the world understand us. The whole community mourned his death, and yet they celebrated it and that was the most touching thing. In fact it makes me teary now. There was nothing to mourn about his passing, yes, we will miss him tremendously, his wit and his wisdom, but his passing was this joyous occasion, a time of great gratitude for a man who gave so much to help so many. He truly touched my life. The funeral was so incredibly beautiful. I can’t even explain the emotion I felt as I listened to the speakers talk about different stories of remembrance- funny, touching, uplifting, optimistic. And then at the end the Mormon Tabernacle Choir sang and they showed some film of his life and I just started to absolutely bawl. To see the Prophet whom I have grown to love, his quirky smile and kind way, the way that he reached out to children, dedicating temples, speaking to people all over the world, walking hand in hand with his wife- to see those images was so emotional to me. How I love him!! I bawled like I do not remember bawling. And yet not in sorrow, but in great great gratitude for our prophet, to have lived at a time when I was able to hear the words and be influenced by such an amazing man. The gratitude overwhelmed me and came out in great gushes of tears. Parker was napping and Spencer was at school. It was a very tender and sacred moment for me. As Spencer and I were driving downtown on Saturday there was a huge billboard that had a big picture of him and the dates of his life and then on a marquee of a small local business were the words “Thank you President Hinckley” It made me cry. Because that is how I feel completely, how so many of us feel – Thank you President Hinckley.