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My surprise over the past few winters has been the personality  
transformation my parents go through around mid-December as they change from Dad  
and Mom into Grandpa and Grandma. Yes, they become grandparents and are  
completely different from the people I know the other eleven and a half months  
of the year. 
    The first sign of my parents’ change is the delight they take in visiting  
toy and children’s clothing stores. These two people, who usually dislike  
anything having to do with shopping malls, become crazy consumers. While they  
tell me to budget my money and shop wisely, they are buying up every doll and  
dump truck in sight. And this is only the beginning of the holidays! 
    When my brother’s children arrive, Grandpa and Grandma come into full form.  
First they throw out all ideas about a balanced diet for the grandkids. While we  
were raised in a house where everyone had to take two bites of corn, beets(甜菜),  
or liver (foods that appeared quite often on our table despite constant  
complaining), the grandchildren never have to eat anything that does not appeal  
to them. Grandma carries chocolate in her pockets to bribe(贿赂)the littlest ones  
into following her around the house, while Grandpa offers “surprises” of candy  
and cake to them all day long. Boxes of chocolate-pie disappear while the  
whole-wheat bread get hard and stale. The kids love all the sweets, and when the  
sugar raises their energy levels, Grandma and Grandpa can always decide to leave  
and do a bit more shopping or go to bed while my brother and sister-in-law try  
to deal with their highly active kids. 
    Once the grandchildren have arrived, Grandma and Grandpa also seem to  
forget all of the responsibility lectures I so often hear in my daily life. If  
Mickey screams at his sister during dinner, he is “developing his own  
personality”; if Nancy breaks Grandma’s mirror, she is “just a curious child”.  
But, if I track mud into the house while helping to unload groceries, I become  
“careless”; if I scold one of the grandkids for tearing pages out of my  
textbook, I am “ impatient”. If Paula talks back to her mother, Grandma and  
Grandpa smile at her spirit. If I say one word about all of this excessive love,  
Mom and Dad reappear to have a talk with me about petty jealousies. 
     
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