I have a question for you: Do you remember when people would find out they were going to have a baby, and then when you talked to them, they would say, "Guess what? We're going to have baby!" and then you would congratulate them? Or if you didn't know them well, they might drop you a note, or you'd hear it from a friend, and think that was nice?
Those were the days, no?
Last week, when Beyonce* announced she was having twins, there was an entire photo shoot, with people acting like she was the first person to ever have a baby, much less twins. Now having a baby seems to call for entire production numbers. And then there are the ever-popular "gender reveal" parties - where the couple gets the gender of the upcoming baby from their doctor, give it to a bakery without looking at it themselves, and then invite their friends, cut into the cake, and it's either pink or blue!
And angels rejoice, of course.
You may have guessed I find these things tiresome. And you'd be correct. And lest you think it's because I'm becoming a grumpy old woman, I feel I should tell you that this kind of stuff has always annoyed me. I am all for people sharing their good news, but give me a break.
There is a knit blogger that I also follow on Instagram, and last year, one day she posted a picture of baby feet wearing handknit booties. The caption said something like, "I had a baby a couple of weeks ago, and we are all doing fine. It was hard not to talk about it all the time, but I decided to wait until it actually happened." People left comments that made it sound like she had stolen money from them or something. I congratulated her and said I admired her decision to do things the way she wanted to do them.
Then there is this article that I read last summer, and thought "Wow." Good for her.
I realize I'm probably in the minority here, but then again, I usually am ...
*I am so not a fan of Beyonce, but I would have been just as annoyed if it had been someone I really like, trust me!
5 comments:
I guess I am in the middle, its not an illness, or the second coming, but I think it is nice to let people know. I work in a school, and a teacher was off on long term leave, turns out she had had a baby. For the last 3 months of her pregnancy she had carried things in front of her bump as much as possible, and had paid someone to let out her normal clothes... I found it very hard to congratulate her on her return...
It's life! No huge production is needed.PS not a fan either.
Not a huge fan of the B, I find her to be a bit overrated. I am all about balance, not going crazy with the announcement, not going crazy hiding it.
Those photos were disturbing, to say the least. Was she going for The Madonna look????
YIKES!
I'm in the minority with you. I'm old enough to remember when a woman got pregnant, even a married woman, and nobody said anything until she was seen wearing maternity clothes. It just wasn't a subject for polite conversation. Boo, hiss on the "gender-reveal" party, too! Another thing I find annoying is when a couple announce that a baby is coming, they say, "We're pregnant!" Oh, really, future father? Will you be carrying that baby for half of the nine-month gestation period? Will you take the first half, the second half, or will the two of you just trade off periodically? OK, stepping off my soapbox now.
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