Daughters and Sons

One of my all-time favorite books is 'Seven daughters and seven sons' by Barbara Cohen and Bahija Lovejoy. It is based on a folktale from Iraq that has been around since the 11th century. As in many countries, having sons is considered a blessing, while having daughters is considered a curse. One brother is 'blessed' with seven sons and considerable wealth, while the other brother is 'cursed' with seven daughters and poverty. The story tells how one of the daughters turns the tables on her uncle and cousins.

However, despite the fact that we live in an 'enlightened' time, there is still a bit of the 'sons are better than daughters' philosophy floating around, especially in certain countries. In China, for example, where there is quite a push for couples to only have one child, a male child is much more preferable to a female child, because sons have to support their parents when they grow up - and daughters don't.

If you have ever seen the mini-series 'Thorn Birds', you will hear the mother state that a mother only takes pride in her sons, and not in her daughters. An Irish professor once told me that in old Ireland the sons were treated like kings by their mothers. And from personal experience, it almost seems to be a 'given' that every man wants to have a son.

So - when I tell people that my younger daughter is expected her FOURTH girl, I tend to get sympathy from people. They express the opinion that my son-in-law must be disappointed, if not my daughter. And I am here to tell you that this sympathy is wasted on them, because they are both THRILLED to be having another daughter.

Little girls are a lot of fun - as I know for a fact since we had two daughters ourself. I was recently at a conference where an entertainer mentioned that he has three daughters and he is 'crazy in love' with them. He didn't appear to be the least upset not to have a son.

Don't get me wrong here - my daughter and son-in-law would probably be equally thrilled to have a boy. Whatever the Lord sends them, that's what they want. Every child of theirs will get just as much love whether they are male or female. Just don't go giving them any sympathy because they have a family of females because they don't need it. Besides, you have to be careful what you wish for. As I said before, we had two daughters and no sons - and now we're raising our grandson!