Five-year-old Austin Woolverton recently made a heartfelt request to her grandfather. Since then she has won the hearts of many people around the world.
Austyn invited her grandfather to join her for Valentine’s Day at a local “Daddy-Daughter Date Night.”
This special event is held annually on Valentine’s Day by Papillion Landing, a community recreation center in Papillion, Nebraska, where fathers and daughters can spend time together.
Austyn’s mother, Kelsey Woolverton, shared the exchange on TikTok. The video has since gone viral with over 2 million views. The heartwarming moment touches people all over the world and is seen as a symbol of the unconditional bond between father and daughter.
Austyn, however, was unable to attend the event without her father, so her date night would differ from that of the other girls there. When she was just 18 months old, Michael “Mike” Woolverton passed away. Kelsey claims that Michael passed away as a result of a fentanyl-related drug overdose.
Despite his father’s passing, Austyn’s love for him remains strong. Her request that her grandfather accompany Daddy and her daughter on a date night is a poignant reminder of the love between her father and daughter and the importance of cherishing loved ones.
“She really doesn’t have memories of him, but from the very beginning we have talked about him,” Woolverton said.
“It was kind of just always something that we talk about, like we talk about the weather.”
Read also: Love Actually’s Sarah and Karl: A Brief But Intense Connection
Grandfather-Grandaughter Dinner
The viral video of Austyn’s plea also helped raise awareness about the risks of drug addiction and the devastating effects it can have on families.
As the video continues to spread, it has served as a source of inspiration for people around the world to appreciate the love of their fathers and daughters, and to never take a single moment for granted.
While Austyn’s father may not have been physically present, his love and memory continue to live on in the hearts of those he left behind, and his legacy will continue to inspire others for years to come.
Undeterred, Austyn decided it was time to ask her grandpa to be her special date for the night. She even drew a picture for him before making the invitation, which was captured on video by her mother, Kelsey Woolverton.
In the video, Austyn can be heard asking to her grandfather in a soft voice, “There’s a Valentine’s dance. But we need our dad to go.” She then added, “My daddy’s not going to go. Will you go with me?”
The touching moment has since gone viral on social media, with the video garnering more than two million views on TikTok. The heartwarming exchange has touched the hearts of people around the world, many of whom have left comments expressing their admiration for Austyn’s strength and resilience.
“There’s a Valentine’s dance. But we need our dad to go,” she asked her grandfather, then added, “My daddy’s not going to go. Will you go with me?”
We’re Touched and Heartbroken
“She is usually not that emotional about her father passing and so it just kind of struck us all with surprise that she eloquently asked him that way,” mom Kesley Woolverton stated. “I had no idea she would put that together that she needed her dad to go, but he wouldn’t be there.”
The video depicts Guenther’s delighted response to his granddaughter’s invitation, as he exclaimed, “I would love to!”
“It breaks my heart that Austyn will grow up without her dad,” Guenther said in an interview with Fox News Digital. “I feel blessed that Austyn and I have this bond and I can be there for her when her dad can’t.”
According to Kelsey Woolverton, the father of Austyn may be gone, but his memory still remains.
“He was a fuller-than-life person. Full of joy [and] loved people,” she stated. “[He] was never serious, almost to a fault.”
Austyn’s mother, Kelsey Woolverton, revealed that after her husband’s death, she and her daughter moved from Oklahoma to Nebraska to live with her parents while she pursued hairstyling school.
During the year-and-a-half they lived with her parents, Austyn and her grandfather grew very close. The two bonded over watching Nebraska Cornhuskers football games and attending a game together.
Guenther is also a regular attendee at Austyn’s soccer games, where he cheers her on from the sidelines. In addition to praising Guenther for his support of Austyn, he also acknowledged Woolverton’s positive parenting skills, which the viral TikTok video did not show...Read More
Source: The Wall Street Times