"I Think New Jersey Made Me Sick"

This said by a fellow traveler on our way back from the Garden state. To be honest with you, no sentence could be more apropos considering the situation. Now, I'm not one of those people who are anti-New Jersey. I mean, I've poked fun at it in the past. But, what's done is done. It's in the past, and we can all be friends now. But, I will admit that it's very hard for a city dweller, without a vehicle, to travel to New Jersey. Especially the suburbs, where we were today. By the end of the day, I was exhausted.

I went to my friend K's baby shower. It was so great to see her as I hadn't seen her in months. For those who don't know the story, K didn't find out she was pregnant until she was five months along. Come to find out, the reason she didn't know was that it was an ectopic pregnancy that had been successful. I don't know logistics, and I never paid much attention to St. Elsewhere, but apparently, the baby had grown closer to her cervix, which is why her body never picked up on the fact she was pregnant. She continued to function in the way a woman does for several months not knowing she was actually pregnant. Plus, she wasn't showing so much because the baby was so low. Now? She's HUGE! And because of the way she's carrying, it will be physically impossible for her to push. Because of this fact and the way the baby is placing pressure on her body, they want to induce her three weeks before her due date.

Technically, she's only been cognizant of a pregnancy for about, say, three and a half months now!

It was finally great to see all of the people she has talked about in the past. I've known K for nine years now. I met her at my first fashion job. I also saw G, (or G-Cat as I call her), which was great because I don't get to see them that much since we've all moved on to different jobs. We got to catch up on everything. D and T didn't show up, but still, it's always good seeing my girls. K, G, D and T are part of group which comprises quote unquote "The Girls". They're the friends who have been with me from most of the beginning, and will be there to the end. In fact, a lot of my sassiness comes from them. If you ever see me talk with my hands, it's their entire fault. You could say it’s part of my undoing, actually. They’re the ones that truly helped me become a New Yorker, in both body language and vocabulary. We've been together through thick and thin. Everything. Breakups, marriages - everything. And now one of us, the first of us actually, the first of our "lot", is having a baby. I'm definitely looking at it in a bittersweet way. Just to see K have a baby. It's so different. It's going to be so weird. K's a character. She's quite the character. It will be amazing to see her as a mommy.

At the close of the baby shower, K's fiancé was kind enough to give us city dwellers (K's current co-workers) a ride to the PATH station at Newark Penn, which would get us back to Manhattan. Let me tell ya, the PATH is an experience. I don't bemoan it, it's just an experience. I did get to know K's work buddies well, except for one who was kind of cunty in attitude. Whatever. Her loss. She got off at Journal Square with her pseudo-trendy boyfriend in tow to transfer to Hoboken. Go figure. I continued on with the other two and had a delightful conversation all the way to the WTC stop. I've said this before and I'll say it again, it's always fun to talk shop with fellow garmento fashionites.

K? I can't believe it. K's going to have a baby. I said it. I said it out loud. I got it out into the open. By the end of this week, she'll be holding a brand new baby. And this baby, given this baby's journey, it's such a blessing. Welcome to the world!! You fought like hell against all odds to get here. I just hope you remain a fighter; a good one. I wish you all the best baby!