Girls will be boys, and boys will be girls

In less than three days time, I will find out whether we're going to have a girl or a boy. I realize that by writing these words, I'm invoking Murphy's Law, and our child will inevitably turn his/her back to the ultrasound wand, and we'll have to wait even longer to found out.

When I try to put into words exactly why it is I'm so excited to find out the sex of our child, I find I'm at a loss. It's something of a cliché to say that knowing this one piece of information will somehow make it all seem more real. I look at my wife's pregnant belly, more pronounced every day, and I gotta be honest, it feels pretty real right now. When folks ask, "Don't you want to be surprised at the birth?" my general response is, "I'm pretty sure I'm going to find a lot about birth surprising; I don't need any more surprise."

More than a few people have asked me whether we want a boy or a girl. And ever since we started planning this, we've sort of been hoping/assuming we'd have a boy. I think it's largely because we have two nieces, and we figure the odds are in favor of a boy for us. A boy would just be something different. A grandSON and nephew instead of another granddaughter or niece. But if you had asked me when I was a kid whether I hoped to have a son or a daughter, I'd have answered daughter in a heartbeat. I grew up with two brothers. Been there, done that, and tired of it.

But here we are. A few days from knowing, one way or the other, and what I find really interesting is that there is no wrong answer here. All the daydreaming about a son I've done over the last few months -- what comics I'm going to read to him, when the appropriate age is for the introduction of Star Wars, whether he'll like Legos or Lincoln Logs -- and if the ultrasound reveals a baby girl in there, I won't feel even a twinge of disappointment. Part of it that is because I've realized that there's no reason my daughter won't love comics and Star Wars and building blocks just as much as any son. Part of it is that we've come up with some awesome girl names that I'm really excited about. And part of it is that in the end, it doesn't matter. That baby doesn't know it yet, but I love it.

Also, I painted the nursery a kickin' shade of green. Completely gender neutral, but sweeeeeeet! And it's called Alien Green. The color was practically made with my kid in mind.