“Rod Gardner I should tan your hide!” These were the words she said to me as we met face to face for the first time. If she’d had a crystal ball to enable her to see our future, tanning my hide wouldn’t have been a bad idea. This road was about to get worse than the one from her home town of Escalante out to “hole in the rock.” It would be a “washboard” ride to hell and back. Little did I know,  I was marrying a ROCK who was the daughter of a ROCK from escalante. 
My mother passed away when she was just a couple years older than I am now. Thankfully she wasn’t around to watch me totally implode. Janeal has been around for all of it. In many ways she slid in and mothered me when it was probably the last thing she wanted to do. At the very lowest point in my life, Janeal was there. I’d shattered her daughters heart and dreams and neglected my responsibilities as a father. As I sat marinating in my misery with no one to lean on, she showed up. “Gardner, you’ve got a visit.” At the lowest of my lows, the defining moments of my life, there she was, smiling on the other side of the glass.

I’m forever thankful that I’m the son in law of Janeal Spencer Chatterton. I know you might not think of yourself as a “ROCK” but you are. The kindness, love and grace you’ve extended to me over the last 32 years is a gift that I thank God for everyday. One day my mother will no doubt express her love and gratitude to you with a heavenly embrace. I can hear her sweet voice saying, “Thank you for being my Rodney’s rock when I was gone.”

Thank you for loving me like a son. I love you. Happy Birthday!