We currently are the host to two male carpet gnomes who we have the pleasure of calling our children. We will be welcoming into the world our little “princess of the crib” any day. With this being our third child, you would think that I would have learned by now; there are some references you just cannot make in the OB-GYN’s office.
Lucky for me, my wife has a great sense of humor and is getting pretty good at giving me the pity laugh when I think I’m funny. However, the ladies in the doctor’s office don’t always feel I’m as hilarious as I think I am.
I’ll explain.
The day we confirmed the pregnancy of our first son, I yelled, “Pull out the chalk and mark her pregnant!” You should have seen the look I got from the doctor . . . it was funny in my head at the time.
I probably should have stopped there, but I’m no quitter. I doubled down. The doctor started explaining what the pregnancy was going to entail and gave us a brief synopsis of what to expect. I then proceeded to tell my wife that if push came to shove, I could deliver the baby at the dairy because I have the experience and the tools to deliver newborns. Oh, the look on the doctor’s face was priceless!
Through the following pregnancies, I found myself increasingly amused by the parallels between cows and humans. Plus, the doctor’s reactions put the icing on the cake. I couldn’t help it! There were jokes made about using BST (bovine somatotropin) and how the confirmation of pregnancy was vastly different in cows. At some point, the conversation turned to milk pumps, and I may have mentioned something about a pre- and postdip and asked about proper milk prepping procedures. Yeah, I’m pretty sure that is where it all went downhill.
Fast forward to last week:
I went along to my wife’s OB-GYN appointment for a routine checkup. At this point in the pregnancy, our doctor is usually talking about how long to wait before trying to conceive again. But the conversation took a different turn this time. Let’s just say I walked out with recommendations for three local doctors who could get me in for a vasectomy sooner than later. Well played, Doc . . . well played.
There is humor all around us, and sometimes it is in the most unlikely of places. Find humor in the little things today, and laugh out loud. After that, make someone you love laugh! Love and laughter are the greatest actions; do both, and watch your day change.
Tyler Ribeiro is a fourth-generation dairy farmer born and raised in California. He is currently partners with his father at Rib-Arrow Dairy in Tulare where they proudly ship their milk to Land O’Lakes. Tyler is actively involved in the dairy industry, holding leadership roles in various organizations locally and across the United States.
