To Willem’s credit he laughed and gave me a big hug.  “You are just a baby magnet.  Didn’t you ever want to do something with your life other than babysit kids?”  It was a harsh criticism, but no harsher than I had been not letting myself say to myself.

At that moment Ally came in and grabbed onto his arm and he picked up his arm. Then Timmy, seeing the game, grabbed onto his other arm and he lifted that arm, too. “Monster! Vattie is a monster!” Ally yelled and he growled and walked out of the room, “pumping” children into the air.  About ten steps out he turned and said: “I guess this is what you get out of it.”  It was a great moment.

Willem mostly rolled with me having two childre...

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