The Saturday Morning Post - March

I never met my paternal grandfather; he died before I was born. If my memory serves me correctly, my mother told me she only met him once. I'm not sure whether that was before or after she married my father. I also don't know whether or not my paternal grandfather (Juan) had any brothers. All I know is that he had two sons; my father (Carlos) and my uncle (Alfred). Each of these men had one son; me and my cousin (Patrick). My cousin died of cancer at the age of 17, and that left me as the only male in my family to carry on the family name. This fact was brought to my attention numerous times as far back as when I was still a child. I don't think there was any intention to put pressure on me, but it just felt a little like that. I'm sure it was only my parents' good intentions to make me aware of this fact. But I sure did hear throughout my teen years and in to my early adulthood that I was the only one who could carry on the family name.

Fast Forward to 1998. I met a nice young lady at work and invited her to lunch. It was probably during that lunch date that Laura told me she had a son who had just turned 5. That fact didn't matter to me. That lunch date led to an exchange of phone numbers, and then to a phone call or two, and then to a first date. When I picked up Laura on that first date, I met Brady for the first time. Our first date led to a second, and to a third, and so on, and so forth. Somewhere along the line we fell in love, got engaged, and got married.

Less than a month after our wedding, we conceived. This baby was due to be born in September of 2000. Well before the ultrasound that would prove me correct, I predicted the gender to be a girl. Here was my thinking: on both sides of our families, the girls out number the boys, and most of the time girls have been the first born. Some examples of the 'first born' are my mom, my older sister, two of my nieces, Laura's mom, and Laura. So I figured it was more likely than not that my first child would be a girl. The fact that Laura already had her first child, a boy, didn't change my prediction. Brady, as a first born male, was one of the few exceptions on both sides of the family. I was correct, we were going to have a girl, and we decided to name her Nina - a combination of my mom's name (Norma) and Laura's mom's name (Tina).

Fast forward to 2007. We were surprised to learn that we conceived. We had, by this time, decided to not have any more children. However, we still considered this a blessing, and began preparing for another baby. For reasons only God knows, we lost this baby after only about 8 weeks.

Fast forward to 2009. We were surprised to learn that we conceived again. We again considered this a blessing. Maybe God was trying to tell us something. Just because we thought we were done making babies, didn't mean that we were. Soon after we learned we were expecting, I added in to my regular prayer routine a request that God help Laura deliver a healthy baby, and that Laura get through her pregnancy without complications. Something I've not said out loud to anyone, including Laura or my mom, is that I've also prayed that this child be a boy. The thoughts about being the only one to carry on the family name undoubtedly came in to my mind when we found out we were expecting.

What about Brady, you might ask. Well, yes, Brady is a boy and now has my last name. I adopted him a few years ago, and he has long called me dad anyway. We don't even discuss his biological dad, who has long been out of the picture anyway. Nina doesn't even know, but occasionally asks questions because she's smart, and sees pictures of Laura, Brady and me - only from a certain point forward, and nothing older. If someday, Brady is to have a son, then yes, my family name would carry on, and it wouldn't matter to me or anyone else that he's really not my biological son. Just like it doesn't matter now - all of us consider him my son.

So what about this baby, you might ask. Well, Laura had an ultrasound this past Thursday. Just like with the ultrasound when she was pregnant with Nina, I was right by her side. She and I heard the news together from the technician informing us of the baby's gender. This time, it's a boy. Naturally, we are both happy. From what the technician told us, everything looks good with the baby. On the viewing screen, Laura and I watched along as the technician examined the baby's organs, and took measurements of the head and body. It was a wonderful experience watching our unborn baby's heart beating. It's truly a blessing.

I've already incorporated in to my regular prayer routine a thank you to God for improving the chances of my family name carrying on.

More updates as the journey continues.

See you next time . . .