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  • 2 days ago
A confused husband didn't know how to react when he read a letter from work about being laid off around a specific date – before realizing it was really announcing his wife was pregnant. Matt Reed, 34, from Akron, Ohio, had previously asked his wife Heather, 31, to surprise him if she discovered she was pregnant with their fourth child. The previous three pregnancies hadn't been a surprise for Matt, but given they were actively trying for a child, Heather knew thinking of a surprise that’d seamlessly fit into everyday life would be difficult. She decided to use Matt's work as a disguise, with a letter filled with corporate speak, announcing he'd be laid off around the time of her birth, as he'll soon be “stretched thin as a father of 4.” On July 6, having discovered she was pregnant, Heather planned for Matt to open their mail right as they picked it up, which he usually does in the family's car. But as the pair were running late for an anniversary meal, Matt skimmed the letter and was convinced by the "corporate jargon" Heather had added to make the letter seem legitimate. Having not seen the surprise, Matt brought the letter to their table at the restaurant, where he read it more thoroughly and started to panic.
Transcript
00:00A devastating letter from work left this husband panicking about his future.
00:04He was sweating, obviously, thinking he lost his job,
00:07and I was sweating watching his reaction.
00:11What the heck?
00:12Until he reached the very last sentence.
00:16This was our fourth pregnancy, and with our first three, I did not surprise him.
00:21He made it a point to tell me that he wanted to be surprised.
00:25The next time, I knew I had to get very creative,
00:28because how do you surprise someone?
00:30Who is kind of waiting on a yes or no?
00:33I accidentally became fluent in some corporate jargon
00:36and realized that I felt like I had what it took to fake a letter from his work.
00:41I didn't want him to open it up and immediately, no.
00:44I wanted it to take a little bit of time and fool him a little bit.
00:49We picked up the mail on the way to our anniversary lunch.
00:53I handed it to him, and very quickly in the parking lot of the restaurant,
00:57he opened it up, and we're in a rush, so he skims it very fast.
01:01What the heck?
01:03To the point where he can't fully understand.
01:05Um, let me take a picture of this.
01:09We got to get in there.
01:11What do you do?
01:12Uh, it's weird.
01:16Just tell me.
01:17This is the year leading the company.
01:19You won 2026.
01:20He wasn't picking up on those hints that, you know, I thought were obvious.
01:25Your time and attention will soon be overstretched.
01:29I, I, I need to reread it.
01:31I need to reread it on this.
01:32I know.
01:32I don't know why she sent that to me.
01:34Okay.
01:34That's weird.
01:35As we waited for them to take us to our table is where he fully read it,
01:39and I had to even nudge him along even then.
01:41The human resources team and myself will assist you during this transition over the next nine
01:47months.
01:47With your official departure slated for Q1 of 2026, your time and attention will soon be
01:53overstretched as a father of four, and we wish you the very best in this exciting new
01:57chapter.
01:58I talk to her pretty regularly.
02:00Okay.
02:03Also, it's this father of four.
02:05I've never once said I've had four kids.
02:09I had to step in.
02:10Do you think in Q1 of 2026, you might be a father of four?
02:22Wait, you made this up?
02:24You did it?
02:25What?
02:26Oh my gosh.
02:28Are you recording me?
02:33All the defenses came down and there, it was just laughter from there on out.
02:37Oh my gosh.
02:38I just can't do this.
02:40It immediately became a core memory for us.
02:43In fact, now that same restaurant has kind of become where we have special moments.
02:48So we went back there for the gender reveal.
02:50He's here now a month old.
02:52It is a crazy time already with four boys under six.
02:58We kind of lean into the chaos and we just don't take life too seriously.
03:01It's a good time over here.
03:03It's a good time over here.
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