Love in action: The Grimes Family

PROGRESS 2018 — When Heath Grimes thinks about his family, he has a team mentality.

“It’s teamwork, understanding and communication,” he said. “When I think about our hectic schedules and the way we do things, it’s a team effort.”

The Grimes team includes Heath, Amy and their three daughters, Leah, Halle and Erin. The family moved to Russellville in 2015 when Heath was hired as superintendent of Russellville City Schools.

Amy and Heath both graduated from Lawrence County High School. “We were friends first. We had French class together, and I sat in front of her,” Heath said. He later proposed in that French class – in French – and they married in 2001.

The family’s busy schedules often send them in different directions. Heath has numerous responsibilities as RCS superintendent, his latest job in a career that has included teacher, assistant principal, coach and superintendent of Lawrence County Schools. Amy tallied 17 years as a computer programmer in the healthcare field, and she is now going back to school to earn an education degree. Leah, 14, is active in dance and volleyball; Halle, 11, also dances and plays volleyball, in addition to playing tennis; and Erin, 8, is in gymnastics and softball.

Leah and Halle dance at a studio in Moulton, where the Grimes family lived before Heath took the superintendent position. In addition to their mother’s encouragement, another motivation was that many of their friends were dancing there. “It was a great social atmosphere, along with the culture, art and talent,” Heath said. Amy added, “I just love the arts. I like music and musicals and dance, so I just wanted them to have that experience.”

Heath said with everything the family has going on, strong communication is crucial to making all the pieces fit together. He and Amy will tag team to be sure at least one of them is there for every recital, every performance, every game.

“Busy is good,” Heath said. “I’m a task-oriented person, so if I’m running the girls around, and I have to get them here or there, and we need to be in four places at two different times – that’s a challenge, and that busy-ness I enjoy.”

Amy, on the other hand, likes things to line up and be organized. Their differences, she said, balance each other out. “Most relationships are like that. You have one who offsets the other,” Amy said. “He gets me out there doing things I wouldn’t normally do because I am so reserved, and at the same time, I rein him a little bit. We offset one another well.”

Although their respective careers and hobbies keep them all busy, they still make time for family activities. Game night, featuring favorites like Yahtzee, The Game of Life and Headbanz, is one thing they all enjoy, and movie or TV nights together are also popular. Heath will take the girls to the lake or the swimming pool, and Amy and the girls will take time to enjoy local attractions or sightseeing wherever they go for dance competitions.

Family trips are another favorite. Orange Beach is a frequent destination; the family has attended Alabama and LSU games together; and Chicago and Washington, D.C., trips are among favorite memories for the Grimes girls.

“It’s hard for all five of us to do something that we all enjoy and where our schedules aren’t conflicting,” Heath said.

In Russellville, Rancho Viejo, 43 Grill and Tokyo are among the family’s favorite spots to dine out. Their favorite place to go, however, is to local high school sporting events and activities.

“We love Friday night ballgames. We go as a family to every football game,” Heath said. They also attend most home basketball games together.

The family is active at Russellville First United Methodist, and Heath and Amy said their faith is a cornerstone of who they are as a family.

“Amy and I have a responsibility to teach our children right from wrong, and our faith is very important to us,” Heath said. “In our faith, we are taught to love God and love people. That is very important to me. I want my girls to learn to love people … I want to teach my kids to give to the poor, feed the hungry and help those in need.” Heath said he and Amy try to make it a point to speak to their daughters about the Golden Rule, “but I hope I do a better job of showing them than telling them. That is my goal anyway. I want them to be a friend to others.”

Sundays are a time for family as well as faith. They go to Heath’s mother’s house for Sunday lunch every week, joined by Heath’s siblings and all of their children, plus their children’s children. “We’re talking 30 or 40 people, every Sunday,” Heath said – cousins, grandchildren, nieces and nephews, aunts and uncles, all gathered around the table for a family meal. “If you don’t go, you get in trouble,” Heath joked. “It’s on the calendar, and it has been since I was born. There is no coordinating because nothing else gets scheduled on Sundays.” It’s an important tradition they cherish. “Mom’s 80, and I don’t know what happens when something happens with her, but while Mom’s alive, we will be going to Sunday dinner.”

Heath said he will always encourage his daughters to pour their hearts into what they care about, whether it’s volleyball or gymnastics or Sunday lunch.

“My song for my kids – my own, plus all who I have taught and coached – is ‘I hope you dance,’” Heath said. “I want my kids to enjoy life, even if it means some pain along the way. Sitting on the side shouldn’t be an option.”

And when they all need a pause in the breakneck speed of the everyday, family will always be there to help them through.

“When you have a lot going on in life,” Amy said, “it’s just nice to have a group of people you can come home to.”