Fear and Female Both Start With "F"

Fine, here it is: originally, I wanted the baby to be a boy. There, I said it; go ahead, militant feminists, get your pitchforks and torches out, I'm sure last year's tiki torches will do in a pinch. If it makes any difference, my reason for wanting a boy was NOT to carry on the family name or anything. It wasn't because my husband wanted a boy, either (actually, he told me he has no preference). My reason won't manifest itself until 2o24, when my child is about 17. This is when she'll be upstairs in her room crying because her boyfriend cheated on her again (perhaps for the third time). Where will I be? I'll be downstairs hammering the last nail in my coffin, because I will have accepted the fact that my daughter wants to send me to my grave.

I'm not kidding. I can't live with the thought that in spite of my best efforts my daughter could grow up to be a silly girl who actively seeks to be a doormat. What if she doesn't have the self-esteem, will, and wisdom to stand up for herself? I don't want her reading horoscopes or writing Dear Abby because she doesn't have the common sense to know when to dispose of a slacker boyfriend.

I dread that my daughter could be like this. I figured I could avoid the possibility entirely by having a boy, but I never got an order form to choose. In a world where the top songs have titles like Smack That and Buy U A Drank, I worry what some guy could approach her with. Could she be at an innocent event someday, like a wedding, and hear, "Baby, UR hot. Can I buy U A drank?"

If she ever fell for that--I'm getting heart tremors.