Bears beats Battlestar Galactica, baby beats ice cream

Our good friends, Pernille and Benjamin, have two kids who are both the same age as Emily and Anna. By some strange coincidence, we have managed to have kids at exactly the same time. This past fall, we were having brunch with Pernille and Benjamin and they confided in us that they had decided to try for a third. And there was the coincidence again! About a week earlier, Mathilde and I had decided we wanted to try for a third as well.

Well, the coincidence didn't get much beyond that. A few months later, Pernille and Benjamin found out they were pregnant, and we found out I had cancer. Of course, at that time, a third baby became the least of our worries and we were just relieved that Mathilde wasn't pregnant.

Here we are 7 months later. Pernille is about to have a baby, and the sad truth is Emily and Anna desperately, desperately, desperately want one too. We have never even told them that we considered a third. I guess they don't see a coincidence as a coincidence, but as a natural pattern that ought to be followed. Anna has gone so far as to ask for a baby for her birthday. I think Mathilde explained to her a bit about chemo, and how we may not even be able to have more babies, and that we would, at a minimum, have to wait for at least a year.

At least Mathilde must have explained some version of the above, because one day last week, she arrived at school and overheard Anna enthusiastically and matter-of-factly explaining to a group of other mothers, "My parents can't have a baby for one year because then it will have cancer. But after that they'll probably make one for me." A few days after that, Anna arrived home from school with picture book about pregnancy that she had checked out of the library. Anna wants a baby.

Emily is no better. Last night we were at Mathilde's Mom's, where we had a nice dinner and desert (with ice cream). When we got home, we were putting the girls to bed and Mathilde whispered to me, "do we still have any of that rasberry sherbert?" Emily, as she usually does when we whisper, pricked her ears up and listened intently. I said, to Mathilde, "You want more?"

Emily heard this, yelled "YIPPEE!", and started jumping up and down. We said, "Emily, you are going to bed, you are NOT having any more ice cream." She looked dejected and said, "Oh, you're only talking about ice cream."

A few minutes later, when I was kissing Emily goodnight, I asked her what she thought we were talking about. She said she thought we were talking about having more babies. I asked if she would rather have ice cream or a baby. She picked the baby. I said, "What if you could have ice cream any time you wanted for a whole year?" Emily, the girl who is completely obsessed with the thought of where she is going to get her next sweet fix, said, "I'd still pick the baby."

I think maybe we should look into a puppy.


p.s. A cookie to the first one who knows the reference in the title :-)