Boy Versus Girl

My daughter-in-law Lindsay went in for an ultrasound last week with her husband, my son Greg. They were excited because they expected the tests to show the sex of the baby due next February.

I'm not sure I understand why so many couples these days are willing to spoil one of the surprises of birth, but maybe it's a generational thing. Besides, if they wanted to know the sex of the unborn child, I could have told them.

It goes back to when my parents first got married over a half century to go. Very shortly after they were married, they visited my father's ciocia Vickie. Ciocia is Polish for aunt and my father's Aunt Vickie always seemed a mystical character whose advice and predictions were respected in the family.

Put it this way. If ciocia Vickie had been around during the time of the Salem witch hunts, it would have behooved her to keep a low profile.

Anyway, aunt Vickie said our family would be blessed with boys. My parents had three boys, only one girl. And Vickie's pronouncement held true for the next generation as well as my parents were blessed with seven grandsons, no grandaughters.

I am told that my brother Tim, when expecting his third child after having two boys, asked my mother to go to Aunt Vickie's grave to ask her to "lift the spell" so to speak. And my mother did go to the cemetery with his request . . . to no avail. Another boy.

So, yes, Greg and Lindsay are expecting a boy.

Anyway, I'm trying something new here. One of my blogging buddies here asked about the lacquered rock I mentioned in a blog a couple weeks ago. I tried to take a picture but acccidentally took a movie instead. Even better, right? So I posted a little video clip of my lacquered rock. They would make great Christmas gifts, don't you think? Cheap too.