Watching my older brother become a dad changed him overnight
My older brother used to be the kind of guy who would disappear for an entire weekend and answer texts three days later like nothing happened.
Now he has a six month old daughter and last week I watched him spend twenty minutes researching humidifiers because the baby sounded a little congested. It has been weird watching it happen in real time.
His car used to smell like old fast food and gym clothes and now there is a stroller in the trunk and tiny baby socks all over the backseat. He leaves dinners early. Falls asleep sitting upright on the couch. Says things like we should probably think about school districts at some point. A few months ago the baby had a fever and I remember him pacing around the kitchen at one in the morning looking more stressed than I have ever seen him in his life. This is the same guy who drove around for months with his check engine light on because he did not feel like dealing with it. I think that is the part that keeps getting me.
Watching somebody you have known your whole life suddenly become responsible for another human being changes the way you see them almost overnight. One day your siblings still feel like the same idiots you grew up with and then suddenly somebody is warming up a baby bottle while talking about life insurance and pediatricians.