Four Weddings and a Bridal Shower

While all I was wishin’ and hopin’ for was a summer fling, it appears that several girls from my youth are getting exactly the thing that they have been pining for since the day they turned twelve. On Friday I attended a bridal shower for a girl that is in my home ward. She was recently enrolled in her first semester of college at BYU-Idaho during this past Winter semester. She and her fiancée dated for two long months before he felt it was time to propose. The date is set for July 8th, and she can hardly contain her excitement. Frankly, the whole situation makes me sick. I sat there and could barely stomach Katherine’s performance as she incessantly reminded us that she was getting married. Disgusting reiterations of “David - you know, my fiancée…” and “Well, you know...I wasn’t even looking for it [marriage]” made an already unpleasant situation completely insufferable. Women in our ward only encouraged her behavior with statements like, “Oh Katherine, I always knew you’d be the first to get married.” The whole thing was absolutely revolting. I already despise bridal showers, but I should have known this one was going to be intolerably nauseating. But I played along and was cordial and supportive about the whole thing. Although, guilt set in as I realized Katherine knew that in reality I was thinking how her engagement was absolutely ridiculous. This realization occurred while I was talking to her, and she randomly felt the need to justify her present situation, even though we weren’t even discussing her relationship with David. She even felt the need to oddly preface her explanation in a way that made me realize she knew exactly what I was thinking, despite any type of supportive performance I gave. I made further efforts to congratulate her, but I still am struggling with the whole situation.