Day 73 - Golf And Grandpa

Some children play footy, others play netball, some compete in athletics or swimming, perhaps softball or baseball.

Maybe they'll try soccer, go-kart racing, cycling or rowing, tiddlywinks, and the list goes on.

This year our Miss Nine took up golf.

I believe there's a certain temperament you need to play golf successfully - I don't have that temperament, but my girl does.

I love watching Kenz practicing her swing because she has that rare ability to enjoy the successes, but she doesn't dwell on the shots that tank, she just tees it up again and "thwack"!

The added bonus to this is that it's usually her grandfather who takes her to the golf lessons.

I adored my grandparents, and Dad and Kenz have had a mutual admiration society going since the day she was born.

It's the small things that make the difference. When she was a baby, dad would take her on long walks in the pram, stopping every now and again to point something out, listening to each other talk utter nonsense.

They would sit on the front deck of my parent's house and watch the planes fly overhead each night, Dad picked her up from kindy a few days a week and walked her home - stopping at the playground and then a bakery for a "treat" on the way (obviously those treats were fairly regular because the owners knew Dad and Mackenzie by name).

Everyone needs that one person who will defend them no matter what they do, who will think the sun shines only for them, who can look past parental responsibility and be the one who gives them a hug when Mum or Dad has had to put their foot down - and for Kenz that person is her Pa.

This is not to say that there isn't massive love from both her Nannas as well, but there is a camaraderie between grandfather and granddaughter that I think may come from a shared mischievous spirit, strange sense of humour and a honest desire to befriend everyone they meet.

It's a relationship that Mackenzie will come to appreciate and treasure more as she grows to adulthood, as anyone who has had a similar bond will attest.