Monday, November 21, 2005

How should we break the news?

My wife and I are pregnant. Well, I should say, she is pregnant, and we are expecting :-) This will be our third child, and I am more excited than I should be. Admitting that I am more excited than I was with our first would not be exaggerating, but it feels inappropriate to say it that way. The girls are excited. And mommy is feeling great.

Anyway, on to business ...

How should we tell the grandparents? The thing is, my wife is already 5 months pregnant, so it's not like we just found out. My wife's family already knows, but they have not told my folks yet. My sister does not know yet either, but if you find out, honey, do not tell Mom and Dad yet, they'll find out in about two more paragraphs.

I saw a video of a friend of mine, who first got news of her new grandchild when she met her son and daughter-in-law at the airport, and she asked, "Who is this?" And then they told her it was her grandson ... She cried with surprise and joy, and it was a great. I do not think we will go that far, but we do want to have some fun.

This is also a bit daring, because I know my mom and dad may read this blog, and if they find out how long it's been in my drafts folder, they'll ring my neck. So Dad, I know you've read my blog, and if you read this before you find out any other way ... Your newest grandchild should be here in about four more months. And Mom, do not go and complain that your son only communicates with you via his blog. This blog is trying to come up with a creative way to tell you. There are also already other posts on the internet about it, so it's not such a secret I guess, but really, that's even worse, right? Because the whole world knows before the grandparents ... sigh.

Vernon's rules for posting:
  • Bad news ... publish it immediately to those who are affected by it, and first to those most affected ... experience will teach you this.
  • Good news ... Tell everyone and take your time doing so, especially if that will spread more of the joy. The best example I can give is the truely Good News that has brought me the most joy.
Someone suggested that we invite them to a birthday party in April ... Great idea!

Another couple had a fun time ... They steamed some fortune cookies, opened them up, and put fortunes in them for the grandparents such as, "In four months, you will have a new heir to your fortune cookies".

If you have a fun idea about how to break the news, let me know.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

You can leave an extra gift under the Christmas tree this year for the upcoming new arrival..... :-)

Anonymous said...

Let me give it some thought.

Anonymous said...

So, a lot of my friends have been getting married lately and they all have been sending out these pictures that they took in one of those photo-booths you can find at the mall. Well, in each one of the pictures they are holding up a different sign...mainly, "save the date" and then "June 20, 2006". So, I figure you could do the same thing to share this wonderful announcement with your parents!

Anonymous said...

Our daughter and son-in-law chose to tell us the gender of their child by tying helium balloons to our trees and bushes. The baby is a boy, so they were all blue, and one was metallic, with a truck, that said "It's a BOY". It was a good way to tell all of us, as there are 3 sets of parents, and the kids didn't want the "who got told first" routine.