Jenna Bush Hager Tears Up Recalling Advice Her Grandfather Gave Her Before His Passing

On Thursday’s episode of the virtual fourth hour of the Today Show, Jenna Bush Hager told co-host Hoda Kotb about some of the great advice her grandfather gave her throughout the years. Her grandfather was former President George H.W. Bush, who passed away in November of 2018, according to Today.

Throughout the years, the former president passed down many words of wisdom to his granddaughters. Even though time has passed, Hager still remembers all of them, and can even recite them as she did for Kotb and viewers during the episode. Many of his words of wisdom focus on humility and being respectful of other people.

“My grandpa, who lived until he was 94, I’ll never forget. Well, first of all, he had this little list of rules that he lived by and they’re all really good ones, like, ‘Don’t talk all the time. Listen to your mentors and friends and learn from them,'” she began.

She then listed off nine of her grandfather’s most common nuggets of advice which she says she has implemented into her own life as an adult.

“Don’t brag about yourself. Let others point out your virtues, your strong points. Give someone a hand. When a friend is hurting, show that friend you care,” she recalled her grandfather saying.

Some of the other words of wisdom were focused on showing gratitude toward others, helping friends when they need it the most, and being kind other others, even after reaching success.

In addition to this list of her grandfather’s words of wisdom, Hager also vividly recalled a time when he gave her some bittersweet advice. At the time, they had been sitting at the dinner table in Maine. It would be the last summer he would spend on earth. As he was drawing closer to the end of his life, he struggled to hear and was having trouble speaking but still enjoyed thoughtful conversations.

At one point during the evening the former president whispered some of the last words of wisdom that he would give to Hager.

“He leaned over to me and he could barely speak and he said, ‘Don’t forget to enjoy the game,'” she recalled, wiping away tears.

At the time, Hager had been heartbroken by her grandfather’s words because she understood their deeper meaning. At that point, he was at an age where he was no longer really “in it as much.”

As The Inquisitr previously reported, Bush passed away in his Houston home surrounded by his family.