Saturday, May 5, 2007

I had heard of spelling bees before but I had never witnessed one in person until yesterday. I have to say it was quite exciting. Just hearing the judges say, “That is correct/incorrect” with the audience (made up mainly of kids) applauding to accept a positive judgement and “aww” for a negative one made for a great atmosphere. The moment that really captivated me, though, was seeing two participants left in the contest. One was Lilly (short, cute, smart, but perhaps a tad insecure) and the other one Carolina (tall, very confident, but not conceited). It was David versus Goliath all over again. Except for Lilly’s mom, none of the parents were present, so this added to the drama. Several of us must have asked ourselves, “What are mom and daughter going through?”

Whenever it was Lilly’s turn to spell a word, she would walk stand in front of the microphone with her toes boosting her two or three inches, but still not enough to be on level with the microphone. Once she would be told the word to spell, her nervousness would show. She would back off from the microphone to think. Sometimes she would start spelling the word, stop to think, and start over from the top.

As all this unfolded, Carolina would sit quietly behind her, showing no emotions at all. When it would be her turn to speak, she would spell the word without an ounce of nervousness. Lilly was going against a machine that didn’t know the meaning of defeat. A day later, she still doesn’t. Lilly received second place.

As a prospective father who knew that Lilly’s mom was present in the room, I was overcome with emotions. To think that one day I will be observing my own child faced with a challenge and I would not be able to help. I could completely identify with Lilly and her mom. At that moment I played with the idea of suggesting to Laura that we name our child “Lilly.” Yeah, silly, I know, considering that we still didn’t know if we’re having a boy or a girl. I guess it makes for a nice story opening. “Hey Panch, did you know we almost named you Lilly?” 🙂

Oh, so yeah, I forgot to mention something: our first child is due September 26. As she called her people, I could hear them congratulating her/us. Me being the overthinker that I am, I wondered why people say “congratulations” to prospective parents when they announce the baby’s gender. Whether it’s a boy or a girl, the reaction is the same, as if the prospective parents had told the world they desired that outcome.

Because I know that 100 years from now the question will be much harder to answer, let me take care of it now. Up until two or three decades ago, most/all parents would find out the sex of the baby upon birth. So, to hear the parent say, “It’s a boy/girl!” was also their way of announcing to the world that their child had been born. To this day, whether or not people know prospective parents desire a boy or a girl, they will say “Congratulations” out of sheer habit! I can see this changing in the next thirty years, however.

Anyway… these are the names Laura and I are considering: Nicolas, Joshua, and Benjamin. I normally would stand against the idea of naming our child just like somebody we know, but the Joshua we know is a great person (obviously not Gonzo — kidding, it’s you foo). I put Benjamin last because Laura proposed it just yesterday. Nicolas and Benjamin do the trick for me because they work both in Spanish and English. If you would like to suggest a name, please do so anonymously via my guestbook.

Sorry, Andres will not be considered. Bwahahahahaha! Kidding, jefe. 🙂

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