Three to Get Ready #9: The Proud Grandparents

This is the ninth in a series of posts that provides one dad's reflections on the last three months of a daughter's club volleyball career. They will appear every Friday until the JVDA Championships in Louisville, Kentucky.

I've vacationed with them.

I've eaten breakfasts, lunches and dinners with them.

I've spent weekend after weekend after weekend with them.

I've walked to and from convention centers with them.

I've listened to them go on and on about their granddaughters. Even better, I've heard them share stories about their granddaughter's parents.

And now that my daughter's club volleyball career is rapidly drawing to a close, there's no denying that I'll miss having spent the last half decade with some very proud grandparents.

I'll miss discussing matches with the grandpa who would hunch over his spiral notebook, diligently scribbling pool play results that no one will much care about by the following week.

I'll miss high-fiving the grandma whose granddaughter just put down a ball at the feet of an opposing player.

And I'll miss seeing the two grandparents who would sit off to the side, soaking it all in as they quietly reflect on this stage in their granddaughter's life.

Of course, I'll also miss having my own daughter's grandparents sharing all of these unforgettable memories with her and our family.

Which brings up another point: The realization that these great memories are ending is also a reminder that some other very proud grandparents, including one of my daughter's, passed away before all this craziness called club volleyball even got started.

And it's hard to think about how much they would have loved all that they had to miss.

Next Week: The Team Dinners