Grandfather.
My daughter Brandi and her husband Travis welcomed into this world their daughter Kaitlyn - a beautiful baby (did you expect me to say any thing different?)
While sitting there holding her in my arms at the hospital I thought back to what my grandpa must have been thinking when he held me for the very first time.
As I was in his arms - he didn’t know what the future held, but he did know He who held the future.
Then I reflected on what my grandparents meant to me and how could I live up to their legacy for Kaitlyn?
My grandpa was a giving and selfless man who worked hard all of his life to provide for his wife and children.
He was frugal, always put his family before himself; he never did things purely for his own benefit.
All of my grandparents loved us beyond what words can describe and their memories still linger in my mind.
Every summer as soon as school let out, I would head to Auburn to spend most of the vacation with them.
Grandpa worked for a lumber company beginning with the days of the two-man saws all the way to modern tools of the trade.
He took me to my first baseball game, taught me how to peel an apple with a knife and how to use a hammer and saw to build things.
Both of my grandmas thought I was the best guy ever and loved me until the end of their lives.
So it is with their legacy leading the way that I will be Pop to Kaitlyn.
I plan to help her learn to toss a softball, made a free throw and enjoy every sport on TV.
I want her to learn to read everything but include books that will mold and shape her body, soul and spirit.
I want her to learn what love really is, how to be a better person and make a difference in this world.
Everytime I wonder what to say - I will remember what my grandparents did and follow their examples.
But most of all - I will love her beyond measure and hug her everytime I see her.
The Poet in Proverbs 17:6 wrote: “Grandchildren are the crowning glory of grandparents.”
Joy Hargrove wrote: “One of the most powerful handclasps is that of a new grandbaby around the finger of a grandfather.”
Rudolph Giuliani once said: “What children need most are the essentials that grandparents provide in abundance. They give unconditional love, kindness, patience, humor, comfort, lessons in life. And, most importantly, cookies.”
I still have the cookie jar that sat on my grandma Bo’s kitchen counter.
Cookies and Little Debbie cakes will always be found at our house any time Kaitlyn comes to visit.
I pray when she is my age, she will look back with fond memories of all the times we had together. And hopefully some lessons learned will help her along life’s journey.
Post a Comment