The Tell
A pleasure unique to the "What to Expect When You Weren't Expecting" set is found during The Tell. The Tell, or The Reveal, is the method by which expectant parents share their news. My situation is fantastic for The Tell because it is wholly unexpected by all but, being married, is wholly endorsed by all.
If we were among the couples that make public theirsexual exploits history of trying, or had even gone public with our intentions to have a baby, The Tell would have been much less fun.
Our Tell is nothing short of sheer, unbridled surprise. I believe that the amount by which your pregnancy intentions are public are in inverse proportion to the amount of surprise during The Tell. Even if you've told no one but your parents or your closest friends that you are trying to have a baby, there is still a small amount of relief when you've conceived. If you are a couple that has gone through months of trying and fertility testing prior to conceiving, your Tell is met with as much relief as surprise.
But when there's no hint of conception efforts, well, your Tell is just plain fun. And so are the reactions.
We told my mother this weekend by slipping her some ultrasound photographs, saying they were the first photographs of her grandchild. The only thing that could have produced more stunned silence would be if I went on to say that my wife was the one with a penis and I was actually pregnant.
The surprise reactions continued the next morning, though they were softened by the fact that my wife and I were actually calling relatives on a Saturday morning. Of course, some of my relatives went beyond surprised and had to demonstrate just how cool they are going to be in the face of a new relative:
Me: Are you ready to be an uncle?
Brother: Do I have a choice?
Wife: I'm pregnant!
Her Grandmother: I'll have to revise my Christmas budget
Me: [My wife] is pregnant!
My 96-Year Old Grandfather: That is great. When is the blessed day?
Me: She's due September 2
My 96-Year Old Grandfather: I have a dentist appointment that day.
And somewhere in America's heartland, we had to bid farewell to exchanges like the below. My mother-in-law who, for purposes of summer vacation cancellation, learned of the pregnancy first, but was sworn to secrecy, was let off of her leash.
Mother-In-Law: My daughter is pregnant! My little princess is having a baby, can you believe it?
Confused Barista: Uh, did you want the grande or the venti?
If we were among the couples that make public their
Our Tell is nothing short of sheer, unbridled surprise. I believe that the amount by which your pregnancy intentions are public are in inverse proportion to the amount of surprise during The Tell. Even if you've told no one but your parents or your closest friends that you are trying to have a baby, there is still a small amount of relief when you've conceived. If you are a couple that has gone through months of trying and fertility testing prior to conceiving, your Tell is met with as much relief as surprise.
But when there's no hint of conception efforts, well, your Tell is just plain fun. And so are the reactions.
We told my mother this weekend by slipping her some ultrasound photographs, saying they were the first photographs of her grandchild. The only thing that could have produced more stunned silence would be if I went on to say that my wife was the one with a penis and I was actually pregnant.
The surprise reactions continued the next morning, though they were softened by the fact that my wife and I were actually calling relatives on a Saturday morning. Of course, some of my relatives went beyond surprised and had to demonstrate just how cool they are going to be in the face of a new relative:
Me: Are you ready to be an uncle?
Brother: Do I have a choice?
Wife: I'm pregnant!
Her Grandmother: I'll have to revise my Christmas budget
Me: [My wife] is pregnant!
My 96-Year Old Grandfather: That is great. When is the blessed day?
Me: She's due September 2
My 96-Year Old Grandfather: I have a dentist appointment that day.
And somewhere in America's heartland, we had to bid farewell to exchanges like the below. My mother-in-law who, for purposes of summer vacation cancellation, learned of the pregnancy first, but was sworn to secrecy, was let off of her leash.
Mother-In-Law: My daughter is pregnant! My little princess is having a baby, can you believe it?
Confused Barista: Uh, did you want the grande or the venti?
Delivered by SteveJeltzFan. Born on 1/22/2007 10:32:00 AM PERMALINK
2 Comments:
Congratulations! My husband and I are expecting our first too, and are due on September 4th! I will definitely be checking in to read about your progress!
I came to your blog via my comment you left of my Phils blog. If you'd be interested in exchaning links I'd be happy to. Also, I hope you return and become a part of the blogging community over at my site, we have a good time discussing the Phils and various other stuff.
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