Flabbergasted

I have the most ridiculous things happen to me sometimes and this is too ridiculous not to share.

Earlier in the summer, a couple of people from the women's group at church approached me and said they would like to throw me a baby shower. This was a pleasant surprise, even though I don't need that much, and they decided to theme the party for diapers and wipes. (Although now I have discovered I actually need a new playpen. Ain't that the way of things.) I have some baby shower trauma, which I alluded to back in this old post, but there is more to that story than is in the post. Let's just say that the experience of someone calling me to arrange a baby shower for me is not one I've had before now.

Initially, we set the date for the shower for a Saturday in August and for scheduling conflict reasons that are not entirely clear to me, it had to be cancelled. I wasn't upset. They told me they would reschedule later and it might not be until after the baby was born. Totally fine.

Now several weeks have passed. My family is involved in a homeschool book club that meets a couple of times a month for the children to talk about a book and run around like crazy people. Several of the families in book club also attend my parish. Yesterday was book club day.

One of the mothers at book club asked me about the pregnancy and my upcoming induction on Sept 12th.** I gave her the details and she looked at me, perplexed. She shared with me that she had received an evite to my baby shower just that morning. It is scheduled for Sept 16th. I blinked at her. She quickly realized I had no idea what she was talking about and started apologizing, thinking she had ruined a surprise. I explained it wasn't a surprise but had been cancelled back in August and that cancellation is the last I had heard about anything. I went home, bewildered.

Waiting on me at home was a message on the answering machine. It was the woman from church organizing the baby shower. She explained that they were having a hard time finding a date without conflicts so they scheduled it for Sept 16th. She also realized it was around my due date so maybe I would be bringing the baby to the party. "Call me back..."

My mouth was now hanging open.

They sent out invitations without ever asking me if I was available. They sent out invitations before even calling me to let me know they set a date without asking if I was available.

So.

I am now faced with making a phone call to tell this very nice, but apparently clueless, woman that no, sadly I, with my fashionable adult diapers, will not be bringing my 3-4 day old baby to a party full of germy, old women approximately 24 hours after being released from a hospital stay that was necessitated by the fact I had to push said baby's head out of my nether regions.

ARE THEY OUT OF THEIR EVER-LOVIN' MINDS?!?

I am astounded, astonished, flabbergasted. They have had children. How can they not know? But evidently, they don't. I don't even know what to say to her. They already sent out invitations. I cannot believe it. Now I have to pick up the phone...


**I have an induction scheduled for next Tuesday, Sept 12th, in order to control for my old friend, precipitous labor, and avoid the dreaded interstate delivery. I will be about 39.5 weeks and probably 5-6cm dilated at that point.