baby crack*

i keep the talk about maggie quiet sometimes, because as amazing as i think she is, she's my niece and that makes me biased. however, my sister is at home with my parents for the month, and the most remarkable thing has happened. my pop, who is a good guy, is also a pretty stoic man. he's not prone to outbursts of affection. i think i can count the number of times he's hugged me the past ten years on one hand. i always kiss him goodbye, but it's sort of formal (which sounds weird, but if you've ever seen it in action you know what i mean). having baby around, though, hasn't just softened the old guy, it's positively slayed him. everytime i talk to him he's happy and chipper and sweet and asks how i am. he answered the phone the other day with a "yes, hon?" rather than his usual, "insert-last-name-here's." my sister says he spends all day with her and baby, and that maggie absolutely adores him. she cracks up when he walks into room and reaches right out for him. they nap together. he tries to feed her from the table! he walks her around the house in endless, tiny loops when she gets crabby. he's patient with her in a way i haven't seen in years. it's incredible.

pop was always that good with us when my sister and i were small. during our teen years he was away a lot, due to his work in the navy. there's a good ten year stretch when i saw him six months out of the year at best. during this time our relationship became a lot more formal, i think partly due to the fact that just when we'd all get used to each other he would have to leave again. i know he loves us, and i can count on him to be there, but this relationship he has with maggie is a totally different animal. the pressure's off him in a way, and he's becoming exactly the kind of grampa i wished i had as a kid. honestly? part of me is a little jealous. thrilled and happy, too, but a touch envious. mostly that makes me feel lucky. maggie has no idea how good she has it.

and really, i hope maggie stays there a lot longer. dad's a whole lot more fun when she's around.

*that's what we call maggie now, due to her ability to hook you right away.