turn out?

“I am so fortunate I have such a good daughter.”

Yesterday I was having a conversation with a daughter. She is going to be out of the country for a full month and is making arrangements for the care of her 15 year old.

An aunt for a week, grandparents for two weeks, and a friend for the last short week.

She was so thankful that her daughter was not into trouble and was not likely to be so. We agreed.

Once when my kids were about that age I was talking to Mom and Dad about something they had done and Mom said: “Dave, your kids have not ‘turned out’ yet.”

Of course that was true, they were teens.

My step dad, who had a fine sense of humor sometimes, roared in laughter. “Neither have my Mom’s kids.” Dad was the youngest of 4 brothers and dad had to be in his mid 60’s at that point.

Which brings me back to my granddaughter.

She is a good kid, and as I look at all of my grandkids, they are all extremely good kids. I know that we don’t always live like we were taught, and that some people seem to go bad, but I think what I see is a very good indication of the future.

I was right when I talked about my daughters with Mom and Dad, after all. A very long time ago, a greek named Virgil said much the same thing: “As the twig is bent, so the tree inclines.”

My love for my daughters and grandkids is not determined by how “good” they are. My love for them is unchanging and given without reservation, but I am one happy grandpa.

I know that in the next decade all of my grandkids will mature into their own person, and I will still quote Virgil, I believe.

A side thought: that same child was not doing well in math. She is a high school freshmen. Daughter got the neighbor girl (who is the same age, and very bright) for a tutor and the grade has come up to a very respectable B. I am proud of them all.