My Brother, Can be This kind of Uncle, Oh Never Imagined

I remember the first time my younger brother saw my newborn daughter. "She looks like a little alien," he said, afraid to hold her or get too close.

Over the coming days I saw him sneaking peeks at the mysterious, mini "creature" who had come into our lives. He seemed intrigued but still watched her from a distance. He'd never been around a newborn baby before, even though he was in his late twenties. I wondered if he would ever warm up to the idea of being an uncle.

As my daughter grew, so did my brother's bravery. Soon he ventured into engaging with her. In fact, when my baby's uncle would come for a visit, it seemed he only had eyes for her, spending hours playing on the floor with her, doing magic tricks and making her laugh. Frequent visits from my daughter's uncle were full of games of hide-and-seek, coloring sessions and piano lessons. Gifts from my brother were touchingly thoughtful. His calls were always to ask how his favorite girl was doing. Despite the distance, he continued to be a support to our family.

I thought my heart might burst as I witnessed their bond develop over time. It was clear my daughter was quite taken with her funny, charismatic, attentive uncle. And he was head over heels in love with her, even if he didn't exactly say it.

One day my wife and I were talking about who we would want to take care of our kids if something happened to us. I began to think about how my brother, a reserved, composed man, normally goofs around with my girls, just to get them to laugh or smile, and how that has warmed my heart. But it was also obvious I could trust my brother to do so much more than entertain my dinner, during dinner.

I knew in my heart the person I would want to raise our girls, but I wasn't sure how my wife would feel. Did she see the same thing I did when I looked at my brother's relationship with our daughter?

“What about your brother?" she asked, without me having to say a word. I exhaled. Good. We were completely on the same page.

It's amazing how clear it is to us that my brother, who has no children of his own, would always do the right thing when it came to raising our daughters if we were unable to. Had you asked me that first day when my brother met my firstborn, if I would ever consider entrusting him with such a huge responsibility, I would have laughed! But the blossoming of his relationship with my family has been the most unexpected, wonderful journey to witness