THE BRADY BUNCH

This entry is not about the American television situation comedy show that aired from 1969 to 1974 on the ABC network about Mike Brady, a widowed architect with three sons married Carol Martin who had three daughters. It is interesting to note that there was no mention of how Carol's first marriage ended because the network knew that the audience might not accept Carol as a divorced woman. The series reflected, at that time, the growing marriages involved children from a previous marriage.

The entry is about Mr. Tom Brady, the New England Patriots three-time Super Bowl winning quarterback, who became a proud father-to-be. According to the press release, Mr. Brady acknowledged that he is the father of the child with Ms. Bridget Moynahan, an actress in various movies and television series. The situation is somewhat complicating because Mr. Brady and Ms. Moynahan ended their relationship last year. Yet, according to their publicist, Ms. Moynahan is three months pregnant with Mr. Brady's child.

A week later, another similar headline reporting Ms. Charlotte Church, the famous Welsh singer, and her boyfriend, announced that they were expecting a child. Ms. Church is famous for her beautiful voice and had performed at the closing ceremonies of the 2002 Olympic Games in Salt Lake City as well as special audience with Pope John Paul II. I enjoyed her first album, Voice of an Angel, released in 1998. Her music collections were sold over million copies and were on the top of the classical album charts.

I was somewhat disappointed as I have been fond of Mr. Brady and Ms. Church. I am 46 years old, so they could be my son (Mr. Brady is 29) and daughter (Ms. Church recently turned 21). It is not my place and I don't attemp to have a mightier-than-thou attitude to preach about Mr. Brady and Ms. Church having children out of weblock. Today, in the Western society, we no longer place a strong stigma on children born to parents who were not validly married. Call me old-fashion, I expected headlines of lavish weddings, then announcements of the birth of beautiful children from Mr. Brady and Ms. Church and not the latter without the official matrimony.

About 10 years ago, my husband and I found out a similar situation occurred on his side of the family. When her mother passed away in 1997, CF (my husband's cousin), learned that the cousin from Ohio actually was her older brother. As CF and her two brothers prepared for the funeral (their father passed away in 1993), an uncle, a brother of CF's mother, explained that they needed to notify the Cousin from Ohio and allowed him time to make travel arrangements from Ohio to Michigan. Uncle explained that CF's mother found out about the pregnancy after her lover already went off to serve in the Korean War (1950-1953). The family sent CF's mother to Ohio and the child was reared by relatives. At 44 years old, CF learned that she had an older brother whom she had always thought was just a cousin. CF finally realized why her mother had to spend part of her summer vacation in Ohio and it was clear that her mother always had special Christmas gifts for the Cousin from Ohio and his children. (I wonder if CF and her brothers found a note or letter from their mother explaining what happened or whether CF resented that her mother kept the secret from her all those years. I also wonder if CF tried to recapture the connection with her older brother or the relationship became too little too late situation.)

As I am unable to have children, I know that a child is a precious gift, no matter under what circumstances the child was born. To Mr. Brady and Ms. Church, best wishes to you and your children.