Jimmy Guyton was reading a sheet of paper on the softball field at his stepdaughter’s senior night when he spotted the word “adoption” – and realized she wanted him to be her dad.
Jimmy, from Kountze, Texas, said he “lost it,” as he and McKinley both fought back floods of happy tears at her Kountze High School senior night game.
It was a request years in the making, and McKinley knew exactly where she wanted to make it.
Jimmy and his wife, Melody Rowinsky, met and bonded through softball around 10 years ago, when both of their daughters played Little League together.
When the couple started dating, their love of the game immediately gave Jimmy and Melody’s daughter, McKinley, something to unite them.
McKinley and Jimmy’s daughter, Lexi, became inseparable too, and over the years Jimmy coached both girls and took them to games as their softball careers developed.
Jimmy was always seen as a father figure to McKinley, and because softball was so special to their relationship, she decided to ask him to adopt her during her senior night game.
“She could have done it for volleyball senior night, she could have done it when she was on homecoming court, when I walked her across the field,” Jimmy said.
“She could have done it for anything – but because she asked me on a softball field, where these two families came together, me and my daughter, and then Melody and her daughter and son.
“It started because of softball; it all came together because of softball.”
On April 11, 2025, the seniors and their families lined up on the field before the players were announced.
When McKinley’s turn came, the person speaking revealed she had something for Jimmy too, leaving him confused and with no idea what to expect.
He was handed a bag and pulled out a frame holding his favorite softball photo of him and McKinley.
Then he opened a folder and read down the sheet of paper inside until he saw the word “adoption.”
“It was like my heart grew two sizes,” Jimmy said. “So, for her to ask me to be her dad on her softball senior night, her last night on her home field, it was just a special moment.”
McKinley has since gone on to play college softball at Jefferson College, with Jimmy watching her games online and making visits when he can.
Melody’s son, Mason, turns 18 this year, and once he does, he and McKinley will both make their adoptions by Jimmy official.
