Bob or Not Bob
Big doings in the Smith family are right around the corner, as our son and daughter-in-law are anxiously awaiting the arrival of their second child (and our fourth grandchild). Mommy and Daddy decided a while back not to find out the gender of the baby (we knew what their first would be, as well as our daughter's two, well before any were born), so this has been a little different compared to the other pregnancies in the family in recent years.
But I have to confess a running joke in our family that I inadvertently started some years ago when we began talking about getting a dog. I kept kidding that we should name the dog Bob, so that I could say, "that's my dog Bob." The phrase "my dog Bob" must come from some children's book or something, as that has always sounded very natural to me. And in the interests of full disclosure, I should mention here that my father's name was Bob (Robert, formally), but nearly everyone called him Smitty (remember, up until a certain time, everyone named Smith was called "Smitty"), but it's not because of that that this came up. I honestly don't know where it came from.
So it started that way, and then when our daughter was expecting her first child, I began joshing her that she should name the child Roberta, so that I could call her "Bob." Obviously, and wisely, she declined, yet I have kidded that grandchild (our first) by calling her Bob. And she always looks at me kind of oddly, and puts her hands on her hips and proclaims, "Poppy, I'm NOT Bob." End of discussion.
Did that a little when our son and daughter-in-law were expecting their first, also a girl, but to no avail. And I really stepped it up when our daughter announced that she and her hubby were expecting their second, and this one was gonna be a boy! Never in a million years, of course, would they actually name this child "Bob." I knew that. We still kidded about it.
But until last night I had not mentioned "Bob" to my son and his wife. They just smiled and said, no, we've got a few names in mind, but that's not one of them. So we don't know what gender this child will be, and we don't know what his or her name will be, but we know one thing.
Not Bob.
Perhaps I should simply call this child Not Bob.
But I have to confess a running joke in our family that I inadvertently started some years ago when we began talking about getting a dog. I kept kidding that we should name the dog Bob, so that I could say, "that's my dog Bob." The phrase "my dog Bob" must come from some children's book or something, as that has always sounded very natural to me. And in the interests of full disclosure, I should mention here that my father's name was Bob (Robert, formally), but nearly everyone called him Smitty (remember, up until a certain time, everyone named Smith was called "Smitty"), but it's not because of that that this came up. I honestly don't know where it came from.
So it started that way, and then when our daughter was expecting her first child, I began joshing her that she should name the child Roberta, so that I could call her "Bob." Obviously, and wisely, she declined, yet I have kidded that grandchild (our first) by calling her Bob. And she always looks at me kind of oddly, and puts her hands on her hips and proclaims, "Poppy, I'm NOT Bob." End of discussion.
Did that a little when our son and daughter-in-law were expecting their first, also a girl, but to no avail. And I really stepped it up when our daughter announced that she and her hubby were expecting their second, and this one was gonna be a boy! Never in a million years, of course, would they actually name this child "Bob." I knew that. We still kidded about it.
But until last night I had not mentioned "Bob" to my son and his wife. They just smiled and said, no, we've got a few names in mind, but that's not one of them. So we don't know what gender this child will be, and we don't know what his or her name will be, but we know one thing.
Not Bob.
Perhaps I should simply call this child Not Bob.
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