037 When Life Breaks Your Back, Love Lifts You: Grandparenting Through Grit, Faith, and Showing Up With Doug Wadsworth

• Guest: Doug Wadsworth — Utah native, Navy officer, devoted grandpa/great-grandpa.

• The early roots: Growing up near both sets of grandparents; linotype-operator grandpa at the Deseret News; hard-work DNA and Depression-era frugality.

• Service threads: Dad’s WWII Pacific stories; Doug’s own path through OCS and commissioning; what service taught him about people, truth, and leadership.

• The day everything changed: Doug’s son Dan falls through a garage ceiling—skull fractures, broken neck/back, becomes a paraplegic. The family response: immediate presence, hope, and practical faith.

• Resilience in motion: Dan’s adaptive three-wheel ascent to Delicate Arch—hundreds cheer as he raises his arms under the arch. Independence, pain management, and still teaching his kids how to wrench on cars.

• Grandpa plays that work:

  • Show up ritual: Be at the games, the recitals, the rough days—and let them see you keep showing up.

  • Cousins as a team: Monthly dinner tradition for married grandkids + spouses to keep the web strong.

  • Model faith quietly, daily: Prayer in the home, consistent language of hope, and lived patterns that kids can copy under stress.

  • Savor > sprint: “Slow down” and laugh more—don’t let repairs and busywork steal the moments.

• Superpowers & kryptonite:

  • Superpower: Getting along while getting things done—truth with compassion.

  • Kryptonite: Thinking you’re right too often (ask Joan!).

• Advice to 30-somethings: Make memories on purpose (camping, trips, projects). Invest in marriage and family—everything else fades.

• Sponsor shout: Recording your story is easier than you think—Doug-approved. Mention “Rivers” at Planted Media Co. for the Grandpa Channel discount.

CTA:
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