Being an Uncle

My older brother recently had his first daughter Leilani. She came out with a full head of hair and eyes that held a bluish greyish hue. Absolutely beautiful, it was obvious to everyone that she did not take after my brother. When babies are born it seems that everyone wants to gather around in an unconscious circular format to pass around the baby (my turn... my turn). When it was my turn, I first asked for a pass then caught a glimpse of my wife which meant hold the baby. I held her and rocked her in what seemed the most uncomfortable position. It’s literally like you don’t want to hold her too tight, too far or too close. My arms perked out as if I was making a basketball hoop shape. As I held her she opened her little eyes and looked up at me. It seemed like the perfect opportunity to walk towards my wife and whisper to the baby “say hello to your real mother and father”. My brother heard me and took his daughter back. I told him that I was just trying to get a feel for the real thing given that my daughter is only weeks away. It’s fun though, holding such a small and delicate person in your arms while her mother and everyone else is over your shoulder yelling: “watch her neck”, “don’t squeeze to hard”, “hold her up a bit more”, “to this…to that”. I tried to tell them that my uncle instincts kicked in. Since becoming an uncle, I’ve tried to spend more time watching my brother and his fiancé care for their daughter. It has given me the opportunity to practice my daddy skills. Trial and error if you will.  

On another note my brother is officially a father for the first time. He seems to be taking it pretty well. Wait that doesn’t sound like something one should say to a new father. He loves being a father. Fun fact about my brother: he does not have a sense of smell. Long story, same ending: can’t smell.  I’m actually pretty jealous that he doesn’t have a sense of smell. Think  about it, It’s perfect for a father since he doesn’t have to smell his daughters dirty diaper every two hours. I asked him the other day, “When you’re alone with her how do you know when it’s time to change her?”… He looked at me and smiled… “The vibrations man”. I wish I couldn’t smell.