What do you want?

By now most of the people that read my blog know that the HyWy and I are expecting.  In announcing this news to our friends and family one of the understandable questions to arise is, "what sex baby do you want?"  We have decided to wait until the delivery room to find out.  Regardless though my answer has been, "I don't care."  The part that I have a difficult time with is the reaction I get after that.  Several people have expressed disbelief that I have no preference.  Some say, "well OF COURSE you'll love the kid either way, but you have to have a preference!"  The reality is I don't and I don't have to have a preference.  The common perception for guys is that they want a son with whom they can share sports with and women want a girl with whom they can dress up or go shopping with.  What life has shown me is that these biases are not guaranteed.  I know several guys that are not into sports and I know many women (the HyWy being the most obvious) who are not into shopping.  I don't want a boy or a girl.  I want a KID who is interested in something.  I want a KID who is passionate about something.  I want a KID who can share an interest with the HyWy and I (doesn't have to be the same interest).  I want a KID with whom I can share my passion about sports.  I want a KID with whom we can cook.  Most of all I want KID who is happy.

While I'm on my soapbox I also have to say that to the best of my ability I would like to challenge the gender identities that exist.  If we have a girl I don't want everything pink.  I don't like pink and until the kid decides that he or she likes pink I don't see why we need it to be over represented in their wardrobe.  I'm sure their will be push back from others on this, but as long as the kid is happy and we are happy it doesn't matter to me a whole lot what anyone else has to say.  

It's just business...nothing personal

It's the single most important lesson that I don't think is taught in school.  We see it all around us everyday.  We see it in the unemployment numbers, we see it in the faces of those who get laid off, we see it when the superstar athletes get traded or take the multimillion dollar contract, and one day we see it in our own lives.  Anyone who pays any attention to the NFL/Super Bowl this week knows that one of the biggest stories involves neither the Giants nor the Patriots, but rather Peyton Manning.  Arguably one of the greatest quarterbacks in history his career threatening injury a few seasons back caused him to miss the entire season in 2011.  Now he is on the verge of being pushed into retirement or being traded away as his team most likely will draft with their number 1 pick a quarterback that could be the next great.  No one is protesting the Colts lack of loyalty the way the nation lashed out at LeBron James a few years back when he left the Cavaliers.  However, LeBron's departure was mired by the idiotic decision to devote a one hour special to his decision on where to go.  Anyways the point is that as with sports teams the companies we work for are just that: companies.  They have no feelings and they know no loyalties.  That's not to say that the individuals that run the companies can't be emotional or have loyalties.  In the last year I have had several friends discuss how they feel bad leaving a company.  The fact is that the company would feel no emotion whatsoever if they had to layoff or fire employees and the reverse should also hold true.  As the axiom says, "it's just business not personal."