"There are so few true surprises in life."

On Sunday this cute gal (Michelle), who attends my parents’ church, came up to congratulate me on my pregnancy. Although I don’t know her very well, she’s always been very warm and friendly toward me whenever I’ve visited my parents’ home church. (Interesting fact: She also used to be a nanny for the Seinfields. As in Jerry Seinfield.) Anyway . . . the first question that people always ask me, almost without fail, when they discover I’m pregnant is whether or not we’ll find out the gender of the child via ultrasound. When Michelle asked this question, I told her that, yes, we probably would. “Oh, don’t!” she exclaimed. When I asked her why she felt so strongly, she said, “You know, there are so few true surprises in life and this is one of them.”

As I type this blog entry, two days later, I can still see Michelle’s blonde head shaking, her little brow wrinkling, and her bright eyes shining, as she gave me her opinion.

The reasons I thought we’d find out the gender in advance are probably due to the fact that I’ve been enamored by the thought of this child and, being impatient, want to find out as much as possible – and as soon as possible. But in the past few days, since giving Michelle’s words further thought, I think I’m inclined to agree with her. Why spoil the surprise? Ultimately, who really cares if it’s a boy or a girl? We certainly don’t. We’ll love it regardless of its gender. (Later on I found out that Kevin never really wanted to find out the gender – but he didn’t tell me this because he didn’t want to disappoint me or make it an issue. So, now we’re both happy!)

Speaking of which . . . I’ve heard of some guys who just want to have a son, a “junior,” who will be like them, play ball with them, and carry on the family name. While I can understand some of this sentiment, I think guys should be careful to not make their girls feel unloved. My dad was always so good to reassure his three daughters (now four) that he’d rather have us than a dozen sons. (Maybe this was due to the fact that my sister Betsy enjoys working on cars, mowing lawns, and playing ice hockey? After all, who needs a son when you have Betsy!) When, after ten years of not having children, my parents discovered my mom was pregnant again, my dad sat us down and told us: “You know, a lot of people are saying to me, ‘Gregg, this time you just might get a son.’ But I just want to let you girls know that I’d be the happiest man in the world if I had another daughter just like you.” That really meant a lot to me. And one of the reasons that, today, I have a healthy respect for men in general is that God gave me the most wonderful dad in the world. I think this world would be significantly improved if every little girl had a loving dad.