A Tree Falling in the Forest

The natural order of questions my wife and I receive from friends and strangers:

When are you due?
Do you know if it is a boy or a girl?
Are you ready?
Do you have a name picked out?

However, when we respond no one seems to believe us.

I give the specific date the baby is due to arrive and they say, “How do you know? It could be sooner, it could be later.” So then my wife and I have to explain how we are so sure…

I say (with some pride) it’s a boy and they say, “sometimes their wrong.” So then my wife and I have to explain the multiple ultra sounds that all show he is a boy…

I say we are as ready as we can be and they ask more questions. Like, “is the nursery ready?” And they state how unprepared we are for cataclysmic change we are about to encounter.

Faced with so much doubt in everything I say, why would I then want to discuss possible baby names?

Here’s what I will say: The boy will not be named Rob, or George, or Boutros-Boutros, or Obed, or Dale. Okay?