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Big news last week as ultrasound results came in from all over...

Did you know that boy sperm swim faster than girl sperm, but die sooner. Girl sperm on the other hand tend swim slower and live longer. If sperm are introduced into the egg's environment at the time of ovulation, the odds are better that the boys will arrive on the scene first and fertilize the egg. If sperm are introduced into the womb a little before ovulation, the chance is greater that the little soldiers will have exhausted themselves before the egg even shows, and the chicks will arrive at the egg when most of the dudes are dead or dying. I imagine a sea of X-chromosomes in lip gloss and Clara Barton hats making their way through a microscopic Antietam of Y-chromosome carcasses.

Of course, sometimes the egg resists the charms of the Y-guys and only wants to join with an X-babe, and some of those X's are pretty butchy and keep up with the Y's... and some of those Y's live as long as the X's... You get the point, but science tells us then that if you are "trying" to have a baby, that is- timing ovulation to match intercourse and/or insemination, the little dudes have a better chance at prevailing...

So that's how things stood as we waited for news from L & A and F & L. Both couples have been trying for a long time now. We found out that they were pregnant almost immediately after conception and we all quietly held our breath, waiting for the first trimesters to go by. They got pregnant the same weekend, and had their gender-identifying ultrasound appointments at the exact same time, on the same day in prenatal offices about 100 miles apart. Their due dates are within a week of each other (at the same time of Mackenzie's and Ben's births last year.)

It's hard to anticipate or describe the mixture of joy and worry and love that washes over you as you witness your closest friends melt into the next phase: Parenthood. There are very real physical dangers associated with pregnancy, and psychological burdens that are palpable to us, but beyond our real comprehension. There's also a whiff of jealousy and concern that they are going to a place that time, life, and circumstances won't allow us to share. We wouldn't want it any other way, but if these people have been our chosen family, what can we be to them when they create a family of their own?

Then came the news... Girls! In both cases! We would have released joyful yelps in either case, of course. But somehow, the news of girls: odd-defying, strong-swimming girls made us giggle with knowing smirks. I mean, girls- that's awesome!

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