Baby Showers Suck - Elevator Rides Are Worse

Okay, I said it! It had to be said.

Baby showers truly suck for the infertile woman. So do pregnant coworkers. Combine the two, and you have recipe for disaster as far as the infertile is concerned.

I've been in any number of places over the past ten years. Sometimes I can deal with it. Other times, I simply cannot. Sometimes I can take the off-the-cuff remarks made in the elevator. Other times, they make me tense beyond even my own comprehension.

Take the most recent exchange for example:

"I hear congratulations are in order," says my dim-witted male elevator companion.

"Congratulations for what?" I innocently inquire while I rack my brain in an attempt to conjure up my latest promotion which was at least 18 months old.

"I hear you're expecting!" he replies.

"Nope. Not here. Sorry. Not me."

"Oh." Uncomfortable silence until we were both saved by the bell.

I see her less than a week later at an after hours work function. She's dancing around in response to another male coworker's comment that she must have eaten one too many watermelon seeds. Her name is Susan. It's perfectly understandable how that got mixed up with Sunny. Oh, well. Not me.

I must admit I hated her at that moment for dancing around about it. I swear she was shoving it in my face. Thank god I didn't have to attend her baby shower.

But I did have to attend the baby shower that was recently thrown for a coworker. I had this erroneous impression that I could go through life as an infertile without exposure to an event that could easily send me back into the darkness that I struggle every day to overcome. What do you do in this situation other than grin and bear it?

I think I did okay. That's all that I can say. Seeing her with the blessed life growing inside of her every single day is enough of a reminder, so I guess I can deal with 30 minutes of my life devoted to doting upon her when it was the furthest thing from my vision that I even wanted to see.