When a friend of mine phoned with the happy news that they would be having a baby at the end of the year, I immediately asked if they knew if it was a boy or a girl.
I mean, that's what people do these days. They have the scan and at some point there’s a big reveal and Mum goes shopping in either the pink or the blue baby aisle.
But then there are those people who say they don't want to know. My son, for example, is one of those, and it isn't easy coping with the anticipation of the impending birth and not know. But then again, it’s not like I knew with mine.
These days, the idea of keeping Mum (couldn’t help myself) about the gender or not finding out at all seems quite fey but rather nice, and on lots of levels, I get it.
But I am the person who reads the back of the book first and doesn't mind knowing how the movie ends before I go to see it. In fact, I prefer to know.
I always hope it will conclude in a good way and this forward knowledge gives me the courage to sit through the icky parts knowing that after the final spin cycle, everything will emerge clean and intact.
The great thing about babies of course is that any result is a good result. Only the mother has to suffer the icky part, we just get to come in at the happy ending. Boy or girl, we are always delighted.
I just can’t wait to meet our newest family member.
– Linda Muller
