grandpa

grandpa and john reading lots of books back in june when he visited baton rouge.

first things first: i'd be remiss not to say happy independence day! there are a great many things about this country that frustrate me daily, but i am still fervently in love with the many freedoms and opportunities that being an american has to offer. it's a bit of a chestnut (and probably not historically accurate), but worth repeating nonetheless:

democracy is the worst form of government, except for all those others that have been tried. - winston churchill 

but you're not here to listen to my patriotic ramblings (i don't think!).

instead, let's talk about grandpa.

when we found out i was pregnant, of course the conversations began with the various grandparents as to what they would be called. my mom's mom knew several of her friends who went by gigi (from g.g., short for great-grandma), so gigi she is.

my mom's dad was easily great-grandpa, in part because that's what i called MY great grandfather.

my dad's mom is so universally known as grandma (or gramma, more accurately) that great-gramma seemed a perfect fit.

my husband's mom decided that "nana" suited her best.

my mom thought and thought and settled on grammie.

which left my dad. oh, daddy. daddy, who said, "the baby will decide what to call me."

i tried to remind him that we would have to refer to him SOMEHOW before our as-yet-unnamed child could possibly deem him anything. he refused to express a preference, insisting it was up to the baby.

so by default, he is grandpa. until john picks another name for him, i suppose!

all this to say, since my dad's family is from baton rouge, he is down here several times a year and gets to spend some time with john. my dad is great with kids, and the older john gets the more he enjoys his grandson. and it is SO cool to watch. whatever you want to call him ... my dad is a great one.