When looking back on my first granddaughter, I am often reminded of the unique and insightful things she said, especially during her early years. One of my favorites happened when Madeline was three and a half years old. It was after the birth of her younger sister Ella. After cleaning Ella up, they introduced her to Madeline, who wanted to hug her with all her might. She was so proud of her little sister, who, by the way, seemed a bit wrinkled at the time. Madeline said, “You look like great-grandma Mary… I’m going to call you Little Mary.” That made everyone present laugh a lot, especially Mary.

Madeline’s next memorable statement was at our house. She was about four years old. She said something, I wish I could remember, but it was something sarcastic about her little brother. Madeline responded with a surprising interpretation: “Ooooh Paaapa, you said that wrong!”.

But one of Madeline’s funniest and most unexpected statements was when she was five years old. She brought home her picture of her from her Kindergarten class. She handed it to me and I scanned it. She was thinking of me. I’m six foot three here, but Madeline seems to be the shortest student in her class, genetics and birth mother are so unpredictable. Then I found out that she had a set of twins in her class. They were distinctive in that the twins wore outfits peculiar to her German Hutterite heritage. So I asked Madeline, “Oh, do you have a set of twins in your class?” Her response blew me away: “I don’t know if they are twins, but they have the same head.” She had never thought of it that way, but yes, she was right.

Madeline, at the age of six, asked if she could take violin lessons. I bet not many six year olds have the desire to play the violin. Neither of her parents had ever played an instrument and neither of them were remotely musically inclined. But we buy him a violin and organize weekly lessons. After mastering the violin and moving on to high school, she began playing the flute and eventually the saxophone. She played in the marching band in middle school, high school, and college.
Over the years, that sweet granddaughter has grown into a beautiful and intelligent young lady. She is now majoring in psychology as a college student…the study of the mind, how appropriate. Her many contributions over the years have been a source of fun, pride, and love for my wife and me.