Last night I watched with delight as Stan and Claire horsed around outside on the deck while he was grilling dinner. The two of them stood together pushing each other back and forth. I watched as the two of them teased each other and as Claire turned to come inside Stan smothered her in a big hug. I adore watching Stan interact with Claire. It makes my heart sing.

Stan has three younger brothers, no sisters…what a long way he has come. He didn’t grow up learning how to relate to girls or women. The first years of our marriage were interesting, to say the least. Stan had no idea what to do with me when the tears came without warning. He had no idea how to react to wild mood swings (come to think of it, neither do I). He had no idea that girls are different from boys from the ground up.

Stan was a changed man once Claire was born. He was the first one to hold her after she was born. There were only three of us in the delivery room when Claire came racing into the world. Stan, the nurse and me. Claire was anxious to make her appearance and the doctor had no chance to be present for her birth. Since it was just the three of us, Stan took over some responsibilities for the nurse. He is the one who scooped Claire up as soon as she was born. He is the one who took her to get her weighed and he is the one who bestowed the name Claire on her. It was an instananeous bond for Stan. He fell in love in an instant and he fell hard. From that minute on he realized that girls are different from the ground up.

It was not always sunshine and roses for Stan when it came to Claire. She was not a daddy’s little girl when she was a baby. She didn’t want to have anything to do with Stan, or anyone else. She would hyperventilate when anyone but me tried to hold her. She was my velcro baby. Finally, around two and half to three years old she opened up to Stan. I guess Claire needed Stan to learn how to relate to girls and women. Having a daughter was a crash course in women’s relations for him. But once he won Claire over, she became smitten with her daddy. Whew, what a relief for me and a joy for Stan.

Watching Stan goof around with Claire is a treat that makes my heart sing.

Oh, for the love of our daughter…