ABOUT GRANDPARENTS

I'm terrible when it comes to keeping secrets. So it was absolutely killing me, not being able to share the news with our family and friends. The Steady is much better. He's a regular poker face. Originally, we were going to tell my parents and his parents over Christmas break, but my bottom lip was getting huge from all the biting, so we told them over the Thanksgiving holiday instead.

Now let us step back for a moment. I have one older brother and he reproduced last year. So my parents are broken in, as it were, to the idea of grandchildren. The Steady has only one younger sister who is studying to become a doctor of medicine. She and her husband keep a very tidy house and they lead very organized lives. They are not in the least bit interested in having children. However, The Steady's mother is absolutely dying to be a grandmother. How do I know? We went out to Colorado last summer to visit his parents. One morning she and I were sitting at the kitchen table talking when all of the sudden she burst out with: I should be a grandmother! All of my friends have grandchildren! I'm the only one who doesn't. Well actually, the moment was framed in a little more context than that, but still, can you imagine the awkwardness?

I just whistled and looked out the window...

So when we told his parents they were both beside themselves with joy. When we said our farewells after a long weekend of visiting, his mom hugged me and said, "Thank you...thank you." When we broke the news to my parents they were also extremely happy. Upon parting, my father shook The Steady's hand and said, "Nice work."

Nice work!? Thanks dad. Real classy.