Chance Takes On The World

Chance, my middle grandson, is trading his tree house for a dorm room at the end of the summer. He is leaving the mountains of Winter Park and moving to downtown Salem, Oregon to attend Willamette University. His life will never be the same. Either will mine.

Chance is an only child. He has been with most of the same kids since preschool. It hasn’t always been easy.

When other kids were chasing each other up and down the playground, Chance was playing elaborate games of make-believe. When his classmates were thinking of ways to get in trouble, Chance was reading books.

I loved spending time with Chance in the summers, when he came to Denver for enrichment classes. He was an eager student in Grandma’s Cooking School. We toured Aurora and Boulder together. We went to the zoo, the Denver Museum of Nature and Science, and a lot of swimming pools.

Being with Chance is to experience magic, first-hand. He is a cross between a leprechaun and a medieval knight. He loves to have fun and play games. He is handsome and charming, quiet and shy, but mostly ~ he is a good boy.

This is my letter to Chance on this last summer before he takes on the world:

Dear Chance ~I am so grateful to have you in my life! You are an amazing grandson. Every day I spend with you, every phone call, every text and email, every time I think about you brings me joy. Pure joy! 

I appreciate your kind heart and your grace under pressure. You are polite, considerate and respectful, in a world in which those qualities are more important than ever. Others can learn from your example. That is your message to share.

I appreciate that you are exceptional in so many ways. You are a reader and a writer, an athlete and a scholar, a computer wizard and a theater geek. You passed all of your classes with “A’s” and earned the respect of your teachers for your hard work and natural talent. Your ability to memorize Magic Cards blows me away. College will be easier than you think. Have fun.

I especially appreciate your creativity and your vivid imagination. Your mind travels to far-away places where dragons live and pirates fly their boats in the the skies. Hold on to your creativity and your wonderful imagination. They will take you to places that others can only dream about.

Other people appreciate your beautiful smile and the twinkle in your eyes. I do, too. But most of all, I appreciate the light in your heart, the breadth of your soul, the sharpness of your mind, and your keen understanding of what’s truly important.

Baby, you are the best. I am so very proud of you. Vaya con Dios!

I will always love you!

Grandma