Monday, August 26, 2019

Grandfathers, Please Step Forward


This summer marked a turning point for me as I watched Dillon connect with his Pops over basketball and a campus tour in Oregon. Where did the years go? I still give hugs and support in the way of grandmas, while Cory and Dillon chat basketball strategies and the latest trades and statistics. I eavesdrop whenever possible.

In the same way, our youngest grandson, Parker, and his Pa have bonded over a shared love for fishing.

At the moment it seems grandfathers have found their rightful places at the head of the mentor line, where they quietly usher their preteen and teen grandsons toward adulthood. 

Some day the boys, in a lightning fast blink of an eye, will realize how privileged they have been to have their Pops and Pa modeling what it means to be a man in today's tough world.

When I held our first grandchild as a newborn, I hoped he would teach me how to be a grandmother. Fifteen years later, both he and his younger brother continue to gently mold me as a grandmother and love me unconditionally, only now they're riding in the front seat where the big boys ride and talk "man stuff."