Finding out I was having twins girls may have been the single most significant life event I had experienced up until that point.
I’m an engineer by trade – that means I’m a mathematical guy. I understand numbers – percentages, probability, statistics…that kind of thing.
So when I found out my wife and I were not only pregnant, but expecting twins, my mind immediately began crunching numbers. How likely was I to have a son? Knowing that they wouldn’t be identical, the probability worked out to a 75% chance that I would have at least one son!
I know it’s not PC to be excited about something like this, but I was. I’m a guy’s guy and I wanted a Little Dan to pass my knowledge, experience and passions down to. Plus, if I did have a girl, I wanted her to have a brother to protect her.
What?!?!
My wife and I went into the ultrasound with a sense of excitement. We were going to find out just exactly how our family would change…and what color(s) I got to paint the nursery. I also walked in with a smile on my face wondering if I was going to have one or two sons – I mean I had a 75% chance of having at least one son! How could I possibly not have one with those kind of odds?
The technician was thorough in her duties, making sure to check and double check every single reading. So far, everything looked good. Two healthy heartbeats which we got to hear (an amazing thing!) and all the right bits in all the right places.
The came the moment of truth:
“Would you like to know what your having?” she asked, almost routinely.
My wife and I nearly jumped out of our skin saying “YES!” We might have been able to holdout and be surprised at the birth with one child, but we just needed to know with two on the way.
The next sentence changed my life:
Dad, you better get a second job. You’ve got two little ladies coming your way!
Anger Management
I’d be lieing if I said that little announced didn’t knock the wind out of me for half a second. But I think I rebounded pretty well.
“How can you tell?” I asked.
The technician proceeded to show how the ultrasound showed girls bits and pieces versus boys. These were definitely girls. And one of them even had the audacity to pee while she was showing me!
I don’t remember much about the doctor’s office after that. I know we made sure to triple check that they were healthy and that everything was going as well as it should be. But I was not in the same mood as I had been when I came in – not nearly the same. In my head, my world had been turned upside down.
My emotions went from disbelief to anger by the time I got to the truck. I hate to admit it, but I actually punched the steering wheel when I got into my truck. What was I going to do with two girls? I don’t know the first thing about girls – I can hardly figure out my wife! I don’t know about princesses and unicorns and hairdos and clothes. I know about trucks and trains and sports and being a man. I was even worried about dealing with the differences in plumbing!
Well Now, That Was Dumb!
The anger I had lasted until about the next morning. I woke up and realized two things: A) we were being blessed with not one, but two, healthy children and B) just because I don’t know about girl stuff doesn’t mean I can’t learn and just because they’re girls doesn’t mean they can’t be interested in traditionally male activities.
So now I’m a father of two beautiful, precocious, adorable, baffling two-year-old girls. And I couldn’t be happier. I’ve danced like a princess with them. I’ve dressed up with them. I’ve played tea and princess and kitchen with them. I’ve also played trucks and trains and tee ball with them. And I’m a better man for it all!
I think the biggest part of my anger was that, deep down, I knew that since we were having twins, this might be my only chance to have a son. But, in retrospect, who cares? I have a two healthy kids. And, I have two kids who will always, regardless of age, be able to look at me adoringly and say “I love you Daddy!” I don’t think a son would do that later in life…I know I don’t with my father.
photo credit: mattbuck4950 via photopin cc
Sorry, comments are closed for this post.