The Keating Family Story, Shared at Grandparent Day on October 2, 2026
Good morning, everyone.
First, I want to thank all of the grandparents and special guests who are here today. I know how much it means to our kids to have people in their lives who show up for them, support them, and celebrate who they are.
This is our family’s second year at Rundle. Our twins, Paige and Lexi, are in Grade 5, and our son Shea is in Grade 8. Even though we’re still relatively new to the Rundle community, the difference these two years have made in our kids has been pretty remarkable.
Before coming here, school wasn’t always easy for them. They are bright and capable kids, but they also learn differently. And as a parent, one of the hardest things is watching your child work incredibly hard and still feel like they aren’t succeeding in the way they should.
Over time, that affects more than academics. It affects confidence. Kids can start defining themselves by what is difficult for them rather than by everything they are capable of.
We saw that particularly with Lexi. She had always loved school, but over time that changed. She reached the point where she didn’t want to go anymore. As a parent, it was really hard to watch something she had once loved become something she dreaded.
Fast-forward to this year, and Lexi was literally counting down the days until school started. I don’t think I could have asked for a clearer sign that something had changed.
And we’ve seen versions of that change in all three of our kids.
If you had told me a couple of years ago that Shea would join Student Council and Robotics, and then become part of both the basketball and soccer teams, I probably wouldn’t have believed you. He had never been on a sports team or really been someone who joined student groups. Now he’s putting himself out there and trying things I never imagined he would choose to do.
Then there’s Paige, probably our most “indoorsy” child, who somehow discovered that she loves intramurals. She’s even developed a strategy for Gaga Ball: if you want to be the last one out, stay to the side and don’t move. Apparently participation is optional, but strategy is everything.
And I love that, because for Paige, choosing to be there, joining in, and finding her own way to participate is a big deal.
And Lexi, who once lacked confidence in her reading, now reads aloud—loud and proud—and asks if she can read her books to me.
Those might sound like little things, but as their mom, they aren’t little things at all.
They’re signs that our kids feel safe enough to take risks. They feel like they belong. They’re becoming more confident and independent, and beginning to see themselves as capable of things they might not have imagined before.
As a psychologist, I spend a lot of my professional life talking to families about the importance of finding the right environment for a child. But there is something very different about experiencing that as a parent yourself.
It’s not about changing who your child is. It’s about finding a place where who they already are is understood and supported.
And that brings me back to why having grandparents and special people here today is so important.
Kids need people around them who see the whole child—not just a grade, a diagnosis, or something they struggle with. They need people who notice their growth, celebrate the risks they take, and keep believing in them.
So thank you for being here today and, more importantly, for being those people in your grandchildren’s lives.
We feel incredibly fortunate that Rundle is now part of our kids’ story. Watching them become more confident, more independent, and more willing to try things has been the best part of that story so far.
