And now your Papa

Dear Sonia,

Your Papa chose to be called Papa because he loved his own Papa so much. You couldn't be luckier with this one either. (Seriously, you lucked out. Not everyone gets so many great grandparents!) There he is last winter eating a hot dog out at Cobbett's.

Things to really love about your Papa: - He'll always worry about you. - He appreciates the little things in life, like being "on vaaaacaaation" and a good martini. - He skis like a pro! He's a great person to teach you how to drive. - He's fun in the pool! - He cries, at all the right moments. - He really really loves your Nana and your mom, which means the amount he loves you is completely immeasurable. - In your first week of life, he was afraid to pick you up out of fear that he might break you. - He'll show you the stars and the constellations. - His hugs are amazing. - He'll hold your hand and you'll never feel as safe.

There's some good stories about your Papa, too. His corvette was stolen right from his apartment building parking lot with the skis still on top! He used to rub my back every night in my crib as I was going to sleep. He used to do this thing called a "froggie dive" into the pool and your mom loved it. He's had some of the same friends for almost 50 years!

The best part about your Papa is that he just sits amongst the craziness that is our family. He's usually listening and taking it all in (and enjoying a beer or two), but he just doesn't get involved in all the drama that the rest of us do. He provides an unbelievable stability to our family. We get impatient with him sometimes, because he doesn't remember stuff you just told him (or, he does remember it, but just wants to hear it again).

If you ever catch Papa just staring at you, it's because he's trying to figure out how he got so lucky to have a little granddaughter like you.

Again, he's far away from you most of the time, but the time you do have with him will be great. He's not one for email right now, although by the time you are ready to write to him, he'll be hooked, as he claims he's going to learn once he gets to retire sometime soon. He'll take all your school artwork and put it on the wall of fame, just over his desk. (Nana made him clean it up recently, but he still has all these little things up there from your mom, and me and Uncle S. I'm sure it'll be pretty quick and you'll take over all the space!)

My little baby niece, Papa loves you!

Love,

Auntie K