My friend Carol is awesome. Funny, smart, warm, she's got a record number of genuinely close friends from all over the place. A native of St. Paul, she's managed to attract a shocking number of visitors to the Twin Cities in the
winter. That's how well-liked she is. (Plus, as an employee of General Mills, she has a direct line on free
Boo Berry.)
She's also kind of crazy.
She's pregnant right now, expecting in January. And she wants to have a coed destination baby shower in either Las Vegas or Miami two months before the birth of her child.
I've never been to a baby shower. But my image of them has always been supremely serene: a 7-months pregnant mom-to-be, smiling beatifically, surrounded by Mom, sister, best friends, and neighbors, all of them oohing and aahing as carefully wrapped presents are carefully unwrapped.
"Oooh, a blanket," as she pulls it to her heaving bosom.
"Oooh, a mobile," as she holds it up above her impossibly rosy cheeks.
"Oooh, mom, look! It's a Teddy!" as her limpid eyes fill with tears of joy. (A Teddy
bear. The other kind of Teddy is at Bridal Showers, right?)
Visually it's all very gauzy. The feeling is warm, as warm as a big bowl of estrogen soup.
Basically the opposite of Vegas. (A bridal shower makes sense in Vegas, right? Women shrieking as the bride tears open her fourth vibrator, brandishing it like a savage. At least that's what I've heard.)
If Carol's plan goes through and I end up in Vegas or Miami, I need your help. Please be constructive: What do these sites have to offer in terms of a baby shower? Can you suggest activities? Is a pregnant belly especially good for body shots in Vegas?
If we end up in Miami, should we hire a Latin dance band for the party? (The Miami Sonogram Machine?)
Or should there be an intervention? Should Carol's friends mandate a St. Paul baby shower? (Be nice. Her mom reads this blog.)
