Bridey, I know that planning a wedding is stressful, and oftentimes, painstakingly brutal. So, today I thought I would open your eyes to ten life experiences more stressful than planning a wedding. Well, perhaps not more stressful, but definitely just as stressful for sure! And the crazy thing? Most of you have probably experienced at least 5 things on this list. It all comes down to perspective. I mean... Although it's difficult to imagine while you're in the midst of planning your wedding, there are life changes in which the stress trumps the angst you're feeling right now as you make your wedding plans.
So, bridey, I challenge you to take yourself back to the coping mechanisms you used to get through these tough times... Because, it's time to stop the bullshit excuses, and quit feeding into the bridezilla behavior. Your 100% better than that! Let's make the word "bride" synonymous with "awesome" instead of "bridezilla". Okay? Hopefully, looking at this list of stressful life experiences will help you put your wedding planning into perspective, and help you get through the wedding craziness (family dynamics, budget, etc.) Here are my thoughts (and not in any particular order):
1. Buying a House: Which inevitably means that you have to move, and both can be pretty brutal! I remember the day my hus and I closed on our house, and as exciting as it was, it was SUPER stressful! Providing all of the bank statements, W2s, etc. felt like a colossal task. And thennnnnn.... The move! Oye vey! Packing shit up, moving shit in, unpacking the shit. Yikes!
2. College: I did well in school, but there wasn't enough Xanax in the world to calm my nerves before finals. I remember telling myself that, "By this time next week, it will all be over." Seriously, I would have traded planning a million weddings over taking an accounting final! But, I survived, and looking back, I wish I could have told myself to chill the fuck out, and quit getting in my own way.
3. Getting Fired: Sooooooo..... Forever ago, I was a hostess at a fine dining establishment, and was scheduled to work on an evening that my future hus (didn't know that at the time) had invited me to attend his summer outing for work. My boss said that if I missed that particular evening, she would fire me. And, you know what? She did. Money was tight for a few weeks after that, but I got through it... And who knows? Perhaps that was the night I sealed my fate with my husband.
4. Death: It's not easy to cope when a loved one passes away, but life eventually goes on, and we heal. Living through it is hard, and stressful. Kinda makes stressing over which passed hors d'oeuvres to select for cocktail hour seem miniscule, right?
5. Illness: Less than a year after I got married, my husband passed SEVERAL pulmonary embolisms through his heart and into his lungs. It was horribly scary (I was terrified that he would die, and it's a miracle he didn't!), and I hope to never go through anything that intensely horrific again. I'm pretty sure I dropped about 10 pounds in one week, and struggled with PTSD thereafter. Thankfully, he's doing great, but man... Talk about perspective!
6. Public Speaking: I don't usually have a problem with this, but sometimes it sneaks up on me. And for most people, it's painful. Right? I mean, oftentimes, there's sweating involved, racing hearts and sweaty palms. Ick! Super stressful!
7. Job Interview: "Don't fuck it up. Don't fuck it up. Don't fuck it up." Yeah... That's what used to play over and over again in my head when I was interviewing. And, depending on the job at stake, interviewing takes preparation, poise and confidence. Throw in some competition for the position... Yikes! Totally exasperating!
8. Pregnancy/Birth: Do I really have to elaborate? I have two incredible children, but man did I fight to have those little assholes. We went through IVF, and between the needles, blood draws, wands (that's my special word for an internal ultrasound or transvaginal ultrasound. Ewwwwww! Use your imagination!), and everybody and their mother seeing my vag... To say it was a stressful time in our lives would be a huge fucking understatement! I don't want to scare anybody out of getting pregnant, so I'll leave it there, but pregnancy? Birth? FUCKING STRESSFUL!
9. Parenthood: You know that joke about how babies/kids don't come with an instruction manual? Well, they don't. And there have been numerous times since my kids arrived that I totally would have sought help from said manual if it existed! I LOVE being a mother, but I also like knowing what I'm doing, so sometimes it's really fucking hard.
10. Divorce: I mean... Think about all of that money you're spending on one day, bridey. Now imagine spending quadruple that amount, and not nearly getting everything you want. That's divorce!
Perspective. Perspective. Perspective.