Having grandchildren is the best! We have six grandchildren, aging from eleven to two years old. I have decided as part of a winter blogging project, to blog about each grandchild over the course of the winter season. Each grandchild is different and I have unique relationships with each of them. When I started blogging, one thing that took me by surprise was when I realized that I am writing about my life. Blogging is like keeping a diary in a way and my grandchildren and their children someday can read about my life and what grandpa was all about. I want to leave this gift of blogging for each of my grandchildren.

I will start with my oldest granddaughter Adelyn. Adelyn is 10 years old and in fifth grade. She lives close by in Montevideo, so I am blessed to be able to see her often. Adelyn has a younger sister Gretta and brother Eli. Her parents are my son Brandon and Katie. Adelyn is interested in sports, hunting, dance and music. What I love about Adelyn is that she always seems to have a smile on her face. She is very caring and takes care of her younger sister and brother like a mother would.

I had a very special summer with Adelyn. We spent a lot of time together and became very close. To me, our relationship over the summer was something special. Both Adelyn and I use Snapchat. She would snapchat me about what she has been doing and I would snapchat something funny back to her. I can single out three events with Adelyn over the summer that meant so much to me.

On a June morning, I received a snapchat from Adelyn informing me that she was playing softball in Dawson later that morning and wanted me to come watch her play. My first reaction was I can’t do that, I’m too busy at work. I struggled as what to snapchat her back. I thought for a minute and decided that I can take a few minutes and drive over to Dawson to watch her play. It will mean a lot to her, knowing that her parents weren’t able to be in Dawson. So I snapchat her back and told her I would be in Dawson and proudly wearing my Montevideo baseball cap! When I got to the softball field in Dawson, she was playing right field. I will always remember her face when she first saw me in the stands. She had the biggest smile and she even waved at me from right field. After the game she gave me a big hug and thanked me for coming and wearing Montevideo apparel. It was worth taking some time off work to experience all that with my granddaughter.

The second summer event that impacted my relationship with Adelyn was during the Lac qui Parle County Fair. It was a Friday night and I had just finished broadcasting the Blackjacks football game in Dawson. Adelyn and Gretta had been to the fair during the day with grandma and were staying overnight. I was driving home from Dawson and called Roxie to tell her I was going to the fair to watch and listen to the 70’s Sunshine Band for a while. When I got to the fairgrounds Roxie called me back to tell me that Adelyn was coming down to the fairgrounds to be with me. She arrived and we bought a bucket of French fries and lemonade and sat on the bleachers and listened to 70’s music. I wanted to go home around 10:30, but Adelyn said she wanted to stay because she liked the music and enjoyed being with me. We had very meaningful conservations on the bleachers. She wanted to know what it was like for me growing up in the 70’s. She was genuinely interested in knowing what my teenage years were like. I appreciated that from her.  We took some snapchats at 11:15pm and sent them to her parents! She was having fun staying out late with grandpa! I loved being with her that night at the fair. Something I always will remember.

In September, Adelyn, along with her dad and mom and aunt Brianna and sister Gretta went to the Taylor Swift concert at US Bank stadium in Minneapolis. Adelyn and I have a love for Taylor Swift music. She thinks it’s cool that grandpa likes Taylor Swift. We had fun taking pictures around and in the stadium, both of us were pretty excited. She asked to sit next to me. When the concert started Adelyn was always looking at me to see if I was singing along with Taylor and having fun. It was a special time with my family and just being with Adelyn at a Taylor Swift concert was a memory we will always remember.

All my grandchildren are special and I love them all very much. I learned an important lesson from my granddaughter Adelyn this summer. Sometimes grandpa needs to be reminded to make family a priority. Thank you Adelyn and grandpa loves you very much.