Life Gets Very Real When A Princess Arrives

I watched my eldest granddaughter march across the football field in front of a makeshift stage and receive her high school diploma with 610 emotions flooding through my bones. They ranged from robust pride to a tad bit of trepidation.

Addison Grace was named after a street on the northside of Chicago and a major league baseball player. It can’t get any better than that! And you see immediately why she is one of my all-time favorite people.

I remember the moment she was born like it was yesterday. They put that tiny soft thing in my hands and I near ’bout melted. She even smelled new and fresh. I remember the joy on my son’s face. And the beautiful glow on his mother’s.

I had two brothers and two sons. I didn’t know diddly-squat about little girls. Addie taught me more than she could ever know. She would stand in a chair and show me how to make chocolate chip cookies. I would give her my famous karate chop rubdown and she would laugh so hard.

She just hugged better than little boys did. She definitely smiled more. And was a whole lot prettier. She could be so gentle and kind. But I’m telling you, she had a mind of her own. I made a point early in her life, not to get on her bad side! She was a joy to watch grow and mature over the years.

She was, is, and will always be my princess.

But as she moved gracefully back to her seat on this graduation night, my mind was more on her future than our past.

What kind of world were we sending her into? Have we as a family, a church, a neighborhood, a good friend, a passing acquaintance, a grandfather….done everything in our power to ensure her happiness, her safety, her good will?

I don’t know one person at Mercer University in Macon, Georgia. But you can’t believe how I am praying for them! I’m praying for a roommate, or roommates, that I may never meet. I’m praying for teachers, administrators, and lunchroom workers that might cross Addie G.’s path. Shoot, I’m praying for the head football coach! He might run into Addie at the Macon Chick-fil-A.

I have a special warning for every single young man that is going to be attending Mercer University this fall. I have guns. And I know how to use them!

The “C’s” moved into the “D’s” as other students made that monumental walk across the field in front of their parents and friends. I silently wished them all Godspeed. But my mind on this night was centered on one precious soul.

An old radio show from my very early days suddenly appeared in my mind. The opening line went something like, “What evil lurks in the hearts of men? Only the Shadow knows!” What a terrible thought at such a time and place.

But a very realistic one. We don’t live in that perfect world. Peace and love don’t abound on every street corner. We, as a people, seem to accentuate our differences and downplay our similarities. That cannot be healthy. I have learned to live with it. But as I sat on that cold, hard concrete bleacher on a late night in May I seethed a bit because it didn’t seem fair to Addie G.

We (this older generation) have not done her any favors. Why didn’t we love more, and listen to political, ethnic, and social haranguing less? Were we all that selfish? Did we completely ignore the Addies that were coming down the pipeline?

Listen, I don’t doubt that this new generation will “make do.” They are smart. They will adjust, fit in, make the most of what lies before them. But I think we could have done more!

Some will say life is what it is. We can’t change anything. The government is too big. We owe too much. The system is in place. The lines are drawn.

“They” may be right. But when it’s your grandchild about to step out into this world…. I say again, we should, and could, have done better.

Of course, the key is loving them. It always comes down to love.

I don’t have a clue how life is going to unfold in front of Addie. Her parents have done all the right things. She knows up from down. And I can’t follow her around every step she takes for the rest of her life. Although I have thought about doing just that!

Part of the fun is the unknown. And in my heart, I know she will be fine. My head still has doubts about the world she is stepping into….

Addie was grinning from ear to ear after the graduation as classmates, aunts, cousins, siblings, friends, and one very proud grandfather stood by her as picture after picture was taken. I would be past naïve, even unrealistic, to believe her life was always going to be this joyful.

But it is my hope for her. My everlasting hope.

Love You Princess,
KK