April Fools

This has become quite the hot topic lately- the April Fools pregnancy announcement.

It is so simple and always gets quick responses. Why not use it if you are desperate to pull an easy prank. On April Fools Day there is always pressure... You must perform some sort of joke or prank before the day is done. 24 short hours to confuse, surprise, astonish... It is an overwhelming feat. And each year that I forget, each year that I fail; I feel disappointed. Maybe I'm a slacker because I didn't plan. Perhaps I'm a pansy because I don't like to hurt or alienate others. Or it could be that I'm a goody-goody because I don't like to lie. Whatever it is, we all feel the pressure as March comes to an end. And I, like every other social media user, get excited on April first to see stories and pictures of other's escapades.

April Fools is part of our culture. I would never ask anyone to refrain from harmless jokes on they day. But what I do ask is that you don't use the fake pregnancy trick. Unknowingly, this prank is not harmless. There are so many women that have experienced loss-infertility, miscarriage, abortion, still birth, loss of a loved one who will now never get to know their grandchild... imagine the sorrow you would feel in their shoes.

Those of us who live with infertility have a hard enough time reminding ourselves to be happy for other's  pregnancies. It is a daily battle fighting the unjust anger we experience for their blessings. Please do not make this harder on us by treating the gift of growing a life within yours as a joke.