A colorblind dad’s delayed reaction to his pregnant daughter’s colorful gender reveal has melted hearts online.
Jody Ratcliff’es celebrations had everything you would expect from a gender reveal – an excited scream, arms raised in the air… only they were seconds after everyone else had finished celebrating.
Jody, 50, from Columbia, South Carolina, has a difficult time discerning shades and variations of primary colors.
In the past, he has particularly struggled to differentiate blue and pink at previous gender reveals.
So ahead of his 24-year-old daughter Leia’s gender reveal, Jody hatched a plan: his wife of 30 years, Melanie, would shout out the color of the confetti as soon as the cannons were let off.
But on the day itself, May 9, Melanie completely forgot her role in the big moment, excitedly heading over to hug her daughter and son-in-law David, 26, as soon as she saw the pink pieces of paper shoot into the sky.
As others around jumped and shouted with joy, leaving Jody scratching his head and forcing him to ask what color the confetti was – before having his own excitable reaction at the prospect of a baby granddaughter after everyone else had finished their celebrations.
The sweet, delayed moment was captured on video by a family friend and on a camera that Leila had set up, and when Melanie shared one of those videos on social media, it received a loving viral response.
Leia and David are now expecting their daughter on November 13.
Speaking of Jody’s viral video, Melanie said: “After I realized I had forgotten to tell him the color I felt bad, but It added a lot of laughter to the already joyous moment.
“No one at the moment knew he was struggling.
“The video reveals him patiently waiting for someone to clue him in.
“When no one did, he had to ask.
“Everyone in the comments has been very sweet.
“We are glad folks are sharing in the fun through TikTok and even sharing their family members’ stories who experience colorblindness.
“The lesson is, make sure you have a plan for your colorblind family members… and stick to it.”
