God bless the grandpas.

God bless the grandpas who get to their grandkids’ awards ceremonies ahead of them and are waiting there to give them a hug, so that the best part of the day doesn’t happen on the stage but in the hallway.

God bless the grandpas who solve problems, so that when something breaks, their grandchildren say with absolute assurance, “Grandpa will fix it.”

God bless the grandpas who spend hours patiently playing ball in the yard, long after mom or dad would have had to (or would have wanted to) move on to other things.

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God bless the grandpas who brag on their grandchildren, and no one faults them because, “grandparent rights.”

God bless the grandpas who know how to get places and give their newly-driving grandkids better directions than any Google map.

God bless the grandpas who take their grandchildren camping or fishing or mushroom hunting or for rides on the tractor or in the boat.

God bless the grandpas who put up tire swings or water slides or tree forts.

God bless the grandpas who build things . . . most especially, relationships with their grandchildren.

God bless the grandpas who make life easier, gentler, safer, happier, better.

God, bless these grandpas.

Originally published on the author’s Facebook page