She's the former first lady of the United States, a passionate education advocate, a one-time librarian, an author and a philanthropist, but if you really want to see Laura Bush's eyes light up, just ask her about her role as a grandmother.
Her daughter, TODAY's Jenna Bush Hager, and fourth-hour guest co-host Meredith Vieira did just that on the show Friday morning.
Jenna has already made her mom (and her father, former President George W. Bush) a grandparent two times over with daughters Mila, 6, and Poppy, 3, and she's about to do it again. As the fourth-hour co-host revealed last week, she's expecting a baby boy this summer.
And her mother couldn't be happier.
"I'm thrilled about the new boy!" she said during her visit to TODAY. "Of course, George and I are just thrilled to have another grandchild. As George says, 'Grandchildren, they're the wonderful part about old age — the reward for old age.'"
The 72-year-old family matriarch is better known as "Grammee" to the girls, who have a distinct name they call their grandfather, too.
"George went with Jefe — 'boss' in español," she noted.
Jenna teased that it's because "nobody's calling him a boss anymore."
As for the former first lady, she raved that "the best part of being a grandmother is that grandchildren are just so terrific."
And, of course, there are certain perks that come with grandparenthood.
"We let them do anything," she added with a smile. "And the part we love the best, when we're with them at the ranch or with them in Maine is they sneak out of their bedrooms at 6 in the morning and rush to get in bed with us. We love that!"
But after the girls say goodbye, there's one part that Jenna doesn't love so much.
"I'll tell you, for any other mothers who feel this pain, it takes a full week to get them back on their normal schedule," she said of her kids post-visits. "They're like, 'Wait. What about the ice cream?'"
Or candy or cookies or ... whatever. Sweet treats are definitely on the menu at Grammee's house.
"Oh, yeah, sure," Bush said. "George says they can do whatever they want with us, eat whatever they want."
So when their first grandson arrives, he can expect some good — and yummy — times ahead.