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Broke Wife, Big City
But it will all be worth it, trust me
By Aprill Brandon
It was on a Thursday afternoon. Or maybe it was a Wednesday morning. Sunday night?
Whatever. It doesn't matter. All the days are running together now.
Even my birthday, which was spent on the couch trying not to die, much
like how I've spent every other day for the past two months.
Anyway, it was during yet another face-to-face conversation with Mr. Toilet that it hit me: Pregnancy sucks.
Oh yeah. You read me right. All that stuff about glowing and being a
sacred vessel and a goddess and how beautiful pregnancy is?
LIES!
All of it!
No, let me tell you what pregnancy is really like, at least the first
trimester, which is as far as I've gotten. It's like being hungover and
coming down with the flu and eboli simultaneously after a night of
dealing with food poisoning, which you contracted after getting beat up
by a bunch of meth-using ninja warriors who like to use heavy, blunt
objects to hit people's boobs and lower back.
And that's just what happens to you physically.
Mentally, you have suddenly dropped 37 IQ points and have the same
memory capacity as a dog whose owner just left. Has it been five
minutes? Five hours? Five days!?! Who knows? You can't even remember
how the toaster works.
As for emotionally? Ha! Just make sure your loved ones are wearing a
helmet when they are in close proximity to you because your emotional
lizard brain has taken over and is bulldozing everything else in sight.
One minute you're on the floor sobbing because you decided, like an
idiot, to watch that Internet video of the puppy who overcame Swimmers
Syndrome, and the next you're threatening to divorce your husband
because he smells like salami and if you can't have cold cuts THEN NO
ONE CAN.
And those things aren't even the worst part. Oh no. No, as horrible as
those things are, the worst part is how everyone keeps telling you "But
it'll all be WORTH it. Trust me." Which is why I would like to take a
moment to address all the parents out there:
Dear all the parents out there,
I know you have good intentions. Just like an addict who has hit rock
bottom, gone to rehab and come out the other side with a new outlook on
life, your words are only meant to encourage and comfort me. To let me
know that there is light at the end of the tunnel. You've been there
and if you can do it, then I can do it.
But the problem is, I'm still at the beginning of the tunnel. The first
trimester is pure hell and the only thing my stupid, forgetful,
emotionally charged brain can handle right now is simple instructions
like:
1. Get can of ginger ale.
2. Lay on floor.
3. Try to drink ginger ale without getting up off floor.
Anything more complicated than that and my brain simply can't process it.
So every time you too cheerfully tell me that it's all worth it,
complete with your 16 exclamation points, all I can picture is your
six-month-old holding a gun to your head and forcing you to type. "Now
tell her it's a love like she's never felt before...good...good...if we
keep convincing women to reproduce, soon we will have enough soldiers
for the baby army and we can finally TAKE OVER THE WORLD! Haha-evil
baby laugh-haha"
Because right now, I honestly can't picture any scenario where this
kind of bodily abuse could possibly be worth anything. You know why?
Because I don't have a baby yet. I have constant farting. I don't have
a little creature that has my eyes and his mouth. I have a bloated
stomach and middle of the night nosebleeds. I don't even have a tiny,
tiny adorable foot kicking my ribs yet, reminding me that I have a new
life growing inside me. All I have is the inability to poop normally.
So while I appreciate the sentiment behind your "it's worth it"
sentiment, it doesn't actually help to hear it. Not right now. The only
thing that helps right now is pickle juice and making jokes about how
much pregnancy sucks.
And I would greatly appreciate it if you all could remind me that I
wrote this post six months from now when I am officially a full-fledge
parent and I'm telling some other poor, pregnant first-timer
about how I know it seems bad right now but it'll all be worth it.
Trust me.
Can’t get enough of Aprill? Can’t wait until next week?
Check out her website at http://aprillbrandon.com/
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