My best friend is now 18 weeks pregnant with her first child.  I’ve been waiting 7 years since I went through the experience of having a spawn for her to get around to it so we could compare notes.  Really, I just wanted her to have a kid that I could enjoy, spoil rotten–then send home.  Sort of like an early grandkid.   We were discussing labor when the following conversation took place:

BFF: “Everyone says how horribly painful labor is”.

Me: “It wasn’t that bad for me”.

BFF: “But everyone says all these horror stories”.

Me: “Those are the women who didn’t have drugs.  I don’t understand it really, it’s not like you get a medal at the end.  You’re not a better person because you suffered horribly, I resent the culture that tells women a good birth is  a”natural” one.  Kidney stones are natural too.  Just because something is natural does not automatically make it good.”.

BFF: “Yeah, I think I’m self actualized enough, thanks, just give me the epidural”.

 LOL.

My best friend got married last year so I spent quite some time perusing bridal magazines–of which there are an unbelievable number.  I’m not very “girly” in most respects, but I do love weddings.  They combine two of my most favorite things in the universe–flowers and cake.  I still glance at them now and again because they give me good ideas for flower arrangements or fun party decorating ideas.  They are fun magazines to look through in my opinion, but there’s one thing about them I just don’t get–the models in the dress ads.

Considering the average age for a bride in the U.S. at first marriage is now 26, I am a little confused why so many of the bridal dress ads feature barely adolescent girls in desperate need of a sandwich who look like heroin addicts at the end of a bad bender.   This does not make me want to buy a dress.  It makes me want to call social services.