Sofie Lin

What’d I tell you? Last week I bet that because my daughter hadn’t had the baby yet, she was going have a girl. Bam! Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls. I’d like you to meet the latest addition to my family, my granddaughter, Sofie Lin. She weighs in at 6 lbs. 10 ounces. She’s a whopping 19 inches tall, or is that 19 inches long? Anyway, she has all her finger and toes, eyes and ears, and her doctors say she’s as healthy as they come. That’s really all that matters.
I knew the moment I saw her, we were gong to be buddies. But I could also tell she’s going to be a handful. We watched our first Chiefs game together last Sunday against the Chargers. I gotta tell you, she wasn’t impressed. I worry about that because I’m afraid her grandma will be able to sway her to the “dark side.” For some crazy reason, my wife’s a stupid Bronco’s fan. And to think of my poor, innocent, little Sofie siding with her is too much for me to take.
I told her to be patient and explained to her that this is a re-building season, just wait till next year. She said grandma told her I’d say that. Yeah, she’s going to be a handful alright. How about it Chiefs? How about winning a couple of your last few games. And if you can’t win them, it’d be nice if you could at least play a decent game. Don’t do it for me. Do it for Sofie. I can tell she wants to believe me when I say you’re all that, but so far you haven’t given her much to go on. Trust me when I say we don’t need another Bronco’s fan in this family.
Actually, it doesn’t really matter whether the Chiefs win or lose. It’s just an excuse for me to get my family together. Either my wife or I make some kind of a huge meal. We have all the snacks and stuff like that. My brother, Aaron and his two kids, Little Aaron and Lisa are usually the first one’s to show up. My oldest son Lucas, his wife Mandy, and their two kids, Krista and Shawn are usually next. Normally, by half time my daughter, Misty, her husband, Travis, show up with their two kids, Adam and now Sofie will finally get here. To say my house is crowded on Sundays is an understatement. Let’s see, just how many is that anyway? Counting my youngest son, who’s still living at home, my wife and myself, the kids and grandkids it looks like there are 14 of us every weekend. I wouldn’t want it any other way.
It’s funny, it seems like the older I get, the faster time goes by. I doubt anyone other than myself realizes I’ve been writing this column for a year now. I’ve written about a lot of things in the past year. You probably realize by now that I’m a pretty conservative guy. I won’t budge on my pro-life beliefs. I have no use whatsoever for anyone who would hurt a child. I believe a man should take care of his own family and not expect the rest of us to do it for him. I believe a marriage can only be between a man and a woman, period. I believe that if you make a mistake you should accept responsibility for it, learn from it, and move on with your life. Oh yeah, I also believe that people who buy into the global warming scam need to get a life. You cry if someone cuts down a tree so a church can build a parking lot. You whine about “green space” all the time. Here’s what you need to do. Get out of the city. Take a road trip with your wife and kids from time to time. You’ll be amazed at all the “green space” you’re going to find. And no, the planet’s not going to die because you drive your car and use a little gas. It’ll be okay.
Kevin McGinty can be reached at: kevinmcginty@sbcglobal.net