There’s something special about when a child chooses you.
Since children are honest, you know that if they chose you, it’s because they truly want you around.
Five-year-old Austyn really wants her grandpa around.
That’s why she asked him to the Valentine’s Day dance.
Austyn’s grandpa, Steve Guenther, is basically her father.
Austyn’s dad, Mike Woolverton, had died four years prior.
So, Guenther, who also lives in Papillion, Nebraska, where his granddaughter lives, has been filling the father-figure role as best as he can ever since.
Austyn and her grandpa love cooking and watching football together.
“Her and my dad get along so well,” Austyn’s mom Kelsey Woolverton said.
Mom says that Guenther would do anything for his granddaughter.
He’s great at stepping in while making sure not to take Austyn’s father’s place.
“Her dad’s irreplaceable, but I’m really happy she has a male figure in her life to kind of be that for her,” Kelsey Woolverton said.
So, Austyn wanted to make sure that it was a special moment when she asked her granddad to the Valentine’s Day dance.
Mom had the camera rolling the whole time during the proposal.
“It was spur of the moment,” mom said.” “I just thought she would go ask him. She wanted to draw him a picture and I never thought she would have said all those sweet little things.”
Austyn also made sure to honor her dad’s memory in the process by mentioning him.
“There’s a Valentine’s Day dance,” Austyn said. “But we need our dad to go there. My dad is not going to go. Will you go with me?”
Kelsey Woolverton said that she and her daughter talk about Austyn’s dad “like it’s the weather.”
“So it was kind of funny that I even recorded it. I don’t really know what prompted me to even start recording it but I’m glad I did,” Woolverton said.
Apparently, the moment was a very Austyn moment.
Mom says Austyn has a great sense of humor and a huge heart.
She also loves to help.
Still, it caught everyone in the heart bone.
Kelsey Woolverton said that everyone in the room became emotional while listening Austyn talk to her grandpa.
“I was tearing up and I think my mom was tearing up, and then when I stopped recording, my mom and I … we couldn’t even look at each other because it was super sweet,” she said.
Mom posted the sweet video of Austyn asking grandpa to the dance online and it ended up going viral.
The video was viewed on Good Morning America’s YouTube page more than 101,000 times.
“How she closed her eyes when she hugged him… she knows he is there for anything and everything,” said one commenter on YouTube.
“Grandparents have special places in the hearts and lives of their grandchildren. Don’t ever miss any opportunities that come your way involving each other. Sweet sweet memories will go on from generation to generation. What a precious moment this was!” said another.
You can watch this heartwarming video below.
