In just a few hours, my baby shower begins. Yesterday I made templates and outlines for the baby’s room decorations: flowers, ladybugs, butterflies, turtles, bumblebees. Guests will be able to paint, color, or collage one of them, and then cut it out to be hung in Little One’s room. My goal was to offer an easy and accessible activity even to guests who don’t feel they are gifted in the craft or art realm.
Anyhow, as I was gathering supplies I pondered my feelings. I have never experienced a shower before. (There wasn’t time to have one before getting married.) The last time I was the absolute center of attention was at my graduation and party in 1999, when I threw myself a catered celebration. I invited about 50 people and pretty much everyone attended. The thing is, as hostess I was kept busy interacting and wasn’t the focus of all eyes at one time. People brought gifts, but the point of the gathering wasn’t opening them.
With holidays, we all open gifts at once and there’s such tumult. It’s easy and fun to participate.
With a shower, the guest of honor does nothing but show up. All attention is paid her. She opens the gifts while everyone watches. Is it odd to find this a tad daunting?
Intellectually I know I deserve the love and attention, and I know people like me. But permitting myself to open and truly receive calls for a kind of vulnerability that I don’t often expose. This will be interesting!
I can’t be the only person contemplating such thoughts.
I didn’t have any showers with just friends. All my showers were with my mother-in-law’s friends and family. I didn’t like the attention from women I didn’t really know and had little in common with, but all they expected of me was to open gifts and say thank you–no small talk necessary–so that made it easy.
It is weird. Enjoy it anyway.
I’ll agree with Marta on this one. My surprise wedding shower was filled mostly with people I didn’t know (all of my friends and family living elsewhere couldn’t attend both the shower and the wedding) who lavished upon me amazingly expensive gifts that shocked and delighted me. It was totally weird. But, as you say, try to open yourself up to the experience.
And I LOVE your idea of everyone making an art project for your baby’s room. So sweet.
This is timely for me because last month was our 19th wedding anniversary and we watched our wedding video. With each passing year I can see more clearly how very uncomfortable I was with the whole bride thing, with being the center of attention. If I were to get married now, I’d elope. I was stunned and weary because of the constant flashbulbs and staging. I loathed being on display and watched constantly.
So I totally identify with that sense of discomfort. My only baby shower was held with my former co-workers after the baby was born so the focus was completely off me.
I hope your shower was lovely and that you are enjoying every moment of this preparation.