I Guess I’m a Grandfather, Welcome M and M, An Army of One

"Having a grandparent is like having an army. This is a grandchild’s ultimate privilege: knowing that someone is on your side, always, whatever the details."

— Fredrik Backman

I was having lunch with a friend, I don’t check my phone, I got a call or two, it buzzed letting me know I had some messages, but when I am with another human I do not look at my phone, my focus is with the person I’m sitting. I think it rude to allow a piece of plastic to distract you from the human connection.

As I walked out, I began looking at my text messages. The most recent was from my cousin in Cleveland; it read, “Congratulations, she is beautiful.” I replied, “what are you talking about?” She replied, “Ha, Ha.” We went back and forth in a state of confusion, but then I began scrolling down and saw a text message from my son to his mother, me, and his sister. The message was a picture of our new granddaughter and my daughter's niece; I guess I’m a grandfather.

Here name is Maelynn Marie; I think I’ll just call her M and M, I’ll spoil her and hope that as a young lady she chooses to spend time with us, not all grandkids are created equal, I know this from experience. I will try and teach her the value of family, the importance of connecting with those that brought you into this world and previous generations. 

I will teach her the value of love, the value of forgiveness, and to not judge others. I will teach her that kindness is a virtue and that all people are created equal. I will explain how some people are born with a head start over others, and some people are born one mile from the starting line. I will instill in her an appreciation for our great country and why freedom is worth fighting for.

I cannot begin to imagine what M and M’s world will look like when she turns 10, 21, or my ripe old age of 50, the world will evolve, she will have tools and abilities that I cannot fathom, but I hope she uses these tools for good. I will explain to her the world to which I was born, the simpler life that we once enjoyed.

I will tell her that when I was born, we did not have microwave ovens, we had three channels on our televisions and our televisions we large boxes. I’ll explain we had radio, but it was full of static and there was no such thing as the internet. If we wanted to learn something, we had to go to a magical place called a library. I will share with her what life was like without cellphones relying on plastic boxes that were connected to the wall.

I will share that some people are mean, nasty, and misdirected, but also that we need to love those people. We need to love those folks even more than the kind, gentle, loving beings for the angry need love more than the happy souls. I’ll explain that life is not fair, good people get cancer and bad people win the lottery. I’ll teach her how to treat others no matter their race, color, or creed.

I will be an example to her showing her how to open the door for others, how to smile when in public, and how to talk to strangers. I will show her how I love my partner, telling her that you can fall in and out of love, to fight for love with an understanding not all relationships last for a lifetime.

I’ll give her my books when she is of age to sip my soup. Some of my words are not for the young, but there are hidden messages in my soup, messages she will find as she becomes enlightened. I will take her on hikes at our mountain home, showing her the deer, fox, and maybe a bear. I’ll take her on trips all over the country and maybe the world, I pray she has a love for travel and not to get stuck in any one place.

M and M is a blank canvas, her parents will teach her how to be and not to be, but her grandparents have a role as well. My grandfather taught me work ethic not through his words, but his actions. I will not just speak to her; I will show her how to be by being the best me.

It's hard to love someone you have never met, and in time I shall meet this young lady. I’ll hold her under the watchful eye of her Mom and Dad and look forward to maybe watching her when her Mom and Dad go out on a date. I expect she will have other siblings, I’ll love them equally, but never forget that M and M was our first and that the first has a special place in our hearts.

So welcome young lady, the odds of your birth is one if 400 trillion. I know you don’t know how fortunate you are, but you can’t take this life for granted. You are here for a reason; you are here for something magical; you are here to help change and better our world. In time you will discover your gifts and I ask that you use those gifts, focus on what God-given talents you have been given. Don’t fret or worry about those things you can’t master; there are others here that can master those things you cannot. You are here for a reason and I can’t wait to start helping show you our wonderful, amazing, beautiful world. 

"Having a grandparent is like having an army. This is a grandchild’s ultimate privilege: knowing that someone is on your side, always, whatever the details."

— Fredrik Backman

With love, Grandson.