The TriDad Life

Dear Beanpod,

At this point, it’s hard to know where to begin. When I last had a moment to sit down and write to you, well over 3 months ago now, there was a lot happening for our little family. We had just moved into our new home in Frankenmuth, you were about to celebrate your first birthday, and your Mom and I – well, we were just trying to get our bearings and trying to keep up.

I can tell you that the pace hasn’t slowed. You are getting bigger, moving faster. You’re discovering your voice. You like to babble most of your waking hours, and I’d say it’s our favorite thing about you except for everything else. You haven’t quite figured out walking yet, but it’s coming. No rush kid.

Your Mom and I tried to give you a great Christmas. We over bought, and it was wonderful. The holidays were a whirlwind filled with family and fun. We don’t deserve all these blessings, but we’re sure grateful. Life is wonderful with you in it.

One of the more notable things we did over the holidays was to take a drive to East Lansing with Grandma and Grandpa Redford to take you to the Breslin Center to watch the Michigan State Basketball Spartans for the first time.

This was a pretty special day for us, because East Lansing and Michigan State University are so special and important to your Mom and me. We both spent four formative years going to school here, and although we did so at different times, I think it’s not too much of a stretch to say without MSU, it’s possible there would be no beanpod!

My MSU story began when Grandma and Grandpa Redford dropped me off at Case Hall as a freshman. At 18 years old and fresh out of high school, I was ready for the “bigness” of a large public university. It didn’t take me long to fully immerse myself in the lifestyle. I enjoyed getting to know people from different walks of life. My classes were challenging and exciting even – I was initially drawn to MSU by James Madison College, the liberal arts school. And, yes, your Dad went to a lot of parties. We can talk more about that someday ;).

As a sports junkie, I jumped at the chance to be part of the student section for MSU football games, and of course in the winter, joined the famed “Izzone.” Life at MSU was as exciting as it gets. I absolutely loved everything about it.

Four years as an undergrad at MSU went by in a flash. What’s amazing about what a place like MSU can do for you, and really the U.S. university system overall, is that it can give you so many options on who you can be if you’re willing to look at it as a discovery mission. Moreover, like any stage in life, it ends up being the people that matter most. I found so many people along the way of my MSU journey that were willing to listen, willing to help me, willing to point me in the right direction, and just support my journey of exploration and discovery.

The people and the community of MSU were the reason I stayed so involved and connected with MSU even after I graduated. It was at MSU where I first discovered my passion for Chinese and international travel, and I found that my MSU degree opened the door to connect and bring together people from all over the world. I received much more than an education – I had become part of something much bigger. When I moved to Beijing, I was honored to gather MSU alums as the President of the alumni club. Of course, over those years, we had some pretty memorable football and basketball teams, which gave us cause to gather pretty frequently.

Now at 36, over a half of my life removed from when Grandma and Grandpa Redford dropped me off at Case Hall, MSU is still really an important part of who I am. And if you haven’t noticed by now, MSU is a very prominent entity in your home life. When your Mom and I started dating, it was fun to learn how passionate we both were about being MSU alums, and how big of fans we were of the Michigan State Spartans (for better or worse). It’s been a fun, and often stressful, couple years together, feeding our inner Spartans through hopelessly following our sports teams week in and week out. I wouldn’t have it any other way.

And so, when the chance to take you to the Breslin Center to watch our favorite team take on the Western Michigan Broncos arose over the holidays, we jumped at it. Grandpa Redford was a track and cross country star at Western, and although MSU was likely going to win big over his alma mater, Grandpa knew just like we did that this visit was bigger than the game for us.

It was simply astonishing to watch you enjoy the game. Your curiosity and wonderment were amazing to see, and you brought joy to everyone around us. Like many other new parents, we couldn’t resist putting you in a little cheerleader outfit…and boy, did you cheer your heart out! We got you a big pretzel, and you ate a lot of popcorn. I think we spent very little time watching the game, as we were too enthralled just watching you.

Beanpod, it’s amazing how quickly life goes. In the blink of an eye, you go from being this 18 year old college freshman to watching your little girl enjoy her first visit to the big arena. I’m lucky. I sit here and get to smile when I think about those years between then and now. Life’s been good.

And now, I look with excitement ahead to the years we have in store together. Who knows what life will look like when you turn 18. Maybe you’ll go to MSU, or maybe colleges won’t even be a thing! For now, it’s too early for such thoughts. I’m just enjoying having your wonderment at the Breslin Center fresh on my mind, not to mention a good old Spartan victory. And anyways, I’m just begging for everything to just slow the heck down!

Go Green! Go White! Maybe next year we’ll try a football game!

Love,

Dad