They say a picture is worth a thousand words, but never underestimate the calming power of a short little phrase.

Words are a crucial component of humanity. From the very basic histories recorded on cave paintings to life updates carried by "snail mail" to news updates via email to the end trailings of phone calls to loved ones, words allow us to express our emotions when our actions can't make them perfectly clear.

For that very reason, I think that words can speak just as loud as actions in many situations. Don't get me wrong, I do agree with the adage that claims the reverse but I do think there is something to be said about the emotions that can be conveyed in a short sentence.

Think of a few three-word phrases that cross your lips most often. Things like "I am tired," "I have plans," "on my way," and "I am sorry" are among those simple phrases that we just casually throw around in our everyday conversation but may carry more weight than we really care to stop and consider. With just those few words, we could give the impression that we are sad, angry, flustered...any number of emotions. All of that emotional weight and their consequences come down to just three words and, frankly, that is both incredible and dangerous.

With just a short three-word sentence, you can communicate entire histories and schedules, give important information about just about anything. Those three little words that may not seem so significant when you throw them out into the open, but some of them have the power either build or destroy a relationship,

All of that weight placed on short phrases and I haven't even gotten to the big one yet: "I love you."

That's the one that drives it home for me, especially in the past few days.

For those of you that may not know, my grandfather passed away recently. In the past few days I have really been reminded how much power just a few little words can mean to somebody. I don't just mean a person saying that they send their condolences (although those have helped me, personally, cope quite a lot) but just the way that people have expressed their own appreciation for who he was and the many, many things that he has done for the entire county.

As a high school chemistry teacher for many years, my grandfather touched an incredible number of his students. All throughout my childhood, I have been asked, just from a passing glance, "are you a Pusser?" The question after this was, more often than not, "you're Lamar's granddaughter, aren't you? He was an amazing teacher and a fantastic man."

They're right, on both accounts.

My grandfather was an amazing man. Not only did he have the passion to teach for 36 years, but to continue to help other members of the community grow intellectually, socially, and spiritually as well.

He also loved to spread the joy in his heart through cooking. Every Christmas, he would make the infamous "Pumpkin Rolls" and "Pusser Sourdough Bread," each from scratch. Yes, my grandfather was devoted enough quality food that he would scrape the pulp from pumpkins for those pumpkin rolls and tended the starter for multiple loaves of homemade bread each year. Not only that, but he also continued the annual tradition of opening home to the community every year for the "Pusser Christmas Tree Party," despite his yearly claim that "this is the last year" for trees.

I'm glad he never truly meant it because that party is what has taught me what it means to do things for other people. It taught me that little details can truly make somebody happier than they ever could have been. It taught me that childhood memories are not only magical, but help you remember loved ones after they have passed (such as my grandmother, who started the tradition when I was young.)

After retiring from teaching, he moved on to help fry chicken and make barbecue at Jordan's Catering (you can't keep a true Pusser idle for long...we like to be useful.) So many people were touched by the love that was put into the food that he helped serve during those years he spent with his close friends.

He knew the importance of lending a helping hand and that, alone, touched so many lives over the course of his life. He knew that his actions, even the small ones, had the potential to be life-changing.

But he also knew that words were important.

Even though he spent his teaching career as a science teacher, my grandfather also had a way with words. So many of my childhood memories of being at Papa and Nana's are filled with blurbs of poems that he often quoted. They were often amusing, usually pertinent, and always beautiful.

During his funeral, I also learned that we shared the same Shakespeare quote: "All the world's a stage,/ And all the men and women merely players;/ They have their exits and their entrances;/ And one man in his time plays many parts."

Lamar Pusser was a man that played nearly all of the roles I can think of, even for me, and I wouldn't change the last three words he addressed to me.

While I did get to spend his last day with him, I did not get a chance to speak to him in the last hours of his life. However, I did get a chance to visit him the day before.

As cliche as it sounds, I will never forget the last words that he spoke to me, because they were the three most important words I have ever heard:

"I love you."

That was all I needed to hear. Sure, I knew it in my heart, but the audible reminder will carry me through the next few days and onward as I strive to use all of the things that he has taught me to make him proud.

Please, take the time every day, before you leave them, to remind those that you care about that you love them. You may think that they know, and they most likely do, but you never know when and if you will ever speak with them again. I have always stressed this (particularly at the end of phone conversations) but now I realize the true weight of those three words.

Papa, I love you and I want you to know that I mean it when I say I am going to make you proud.

Enjoy some chocolate pie and a mondo Heath Blizzard with Nana for me. I love you!