Boom! Boom! Boom! Let’s Have A Baby Boom!

This morning I woke up to howling winds and dark skies.

When I greeted my mom in her room, she sat me down and asked, “Did you hear about your brother JR?”

“No,” I answered. She peeked out of the open door to check if someone was outside. My mind started racing down the list of possibilities—accident, marriage proposal, promotion, sex-change operation….

Mom had an embarrassed smile on her lips. “Last Sunday he told me ‘Mommy, you’ll be a grandmother again soon.’ His girlfriend is 3 months pregnant.”

I blinked just once. “Oh. Okay.” Pause. My gosh, what’s happening? This is the second unplanned pregnancy I know in two weeks.

What I wanted to say was: “At least you don’t have to worry about me getting a girl pregnant, Mom!” What came out was: “Well, they don’t have to get married immediately….”

My mom cut me off. “But the poor kid! Having unmarried parents…! The stigma!”

My turn to cut her off. “Nowadays it’s a stigma only if the kid goes to a Catholic school and the nuns are strict. How old is the girlfriend?”

“22 years old. So she still needs parental consent if they’re to get married.”

“At 22 years old?!” I rolled my eyes. “Do her parents know?”

“She hasn’t told them yet. She’s afraid her father might throw her out—he’s that strict. If that happens she might stay here with us first.”

Well, well, well.

Well, well.

Oh well.