I love love love my parents in law. I know that's incredibly rare, but it's very true of me. They are wonderful people. No one is perfect, of course, but I love love love them.

They are very supportive of Patrick's work, and they are amazing with my daughters. They understand the girls so well as the very unique personalities they are, and relate to each of them just as she needs. The bond between Patrick's Dad and Amelia is particularly tender and wonderful to me. It's a poetic connection, and I will try to do it tribute properly someday. There's a short story in there somewhere, and I would hope to be able to capture the way they look at each other, right smack in the eye.

They came down for Patrick's fancy museum on Saturday night, and took us out to dinner. Amelia was sitting beside her Grampa and said, "Grampa, what's your job?"

"Well, I'm retired now. My job is to be your Grampa. But I used to work for Polaroid, which no longer exists."

"What's Polaroid?" Amelia asked him.

"They made cameras," he said over the noise of the crowd.

"Camels?" answered Amelia. "Oh. I thought they made themselves."

Oh, we howled. He was still giggling when we said goodnight ten minutes later. I am so happy to have played a part in raising a daughter that could make this good man laugh like that.

I often hear people complain about their parents-in-law, but I adore mine. I hit the jackpot when I became a Browne.