Last month one of my mates from school got his wife pregnant and they are both happy about it (good for them and all that) and as expected it was broadcast high & wide on Facebook.
As you can all expect, a torrent of cringe-inducing congratulations started spewing forth and as I know him very well I felt obliged to make a comment. I said "Congratulations dude".


The thing is, I didn't mean it. I knew I was lying when I wrote it, but I thought it easier to go with the tide than ignore the milestone post, or even more dangerous, say something like "Hahaha, game over! Better you than me! LOL!" or something equally earthquake inducing.

Then this morning, another friend from many years back posted how happy she was that she's been fertilised and counting the days until she spits out some larval young. I don't think I could stomach pretending to be happy for her, so I'll just pretend I didn't see the Facebook update.



On the plus side, I recently discovered the "Only important" filter on Facebook, so we can still be active friends but I get a virtual baby filter.

Oh. Unless Facebook decides babies are classified as "important" updates.

Usually i don't say anything. I just ignore it.

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"i never change my mind, only my underwear"

Usually I don't say anything, either. But if it's someone I know pretty well who has a good sense of humor, I might say something like, "Your life is over now!" Little do they know that's how I really feel about it

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"A woman has to live her life, or live to repent not having lived it." -- D. H. Lawrence

I would probably just congratulate them. I just earned another certificate and people congratulated me even though it's not something that is important to their lives. To me it's just acknowledging that a friend has news that's making them happy. You don't have to add: "I can't wait to babysit your amazing, special baby! Wish I had one!" LOL.

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I'm the lead character in my life.

Yeah, unless it's a disastrous situation, I usually just congratulate them and then if they keep going on about it I just ignore them.

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I don't usually say congratulations either. I try and word things as positively as I can, while remaining honest. I've said things along the lines of, "That's good for you two - so glad you are happy!" I make sure to keep that important "that's" in there - since it IS a good choice for THEM - but not an accomplishment IMHO. It's a small enough thing though, that it's not really noticed, and is usually interpreted as saying "Congratulations" in a unique way...I don't really like these tricky, semi-sneaky situations...have had a few over my FB years

Oh - also when the baby is born I usually say something like, "Glad both mother and child are healthy and happy", (as long as that is the case). Again, it's true, and a little more meaningful.

But the above is only for people I KNOW will notice an abscent comment, otherwise I just ignore it!! I have become quite familiar with those setting on FB - in fact I think a few need to be revisited...

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"We don't see things as they are, we see things as we are." - Anais Nin

Yes, if it were a teenager or a disaster-waiting-to-happen I wouldn't jump on the congrats board, but for a friend or an acquaintance for whom the news would actually be happy, sure.

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I'm the lead character in my life.

I always say congrats. I would like it if someone said congrats to me if we got a new dog or something. It is still a big step in their life whether it is the one you want to take or not you should still be happy for them if they are happy.

All my congrats are always false though. I really do not like when friends get preggo as it is a big GAME OVER when it comes to CF friends. Sad. I am still happy for them and their life, but it still sucks.

I kinda put this one up there with "Your baby is so cute" even when they are ugly as hell... I still say it.

I give friends, co-workers etc. two moments of well-wishes: Announcement of pregnancy and then announcement of birth. A simple courtesy is the social lubricant that keeps the gears meshing smoothly, so I squirt a little compliment from my oil can and I'm done. In the past, I used to cut people off completely, but now it's more fun to watch the downward spiral. Grab some popcorn, enjoy the show and be glad your life doesn't suck like theirs.

I've been known to say "My condolences" in a tone that implies I'm joking...

...but I'm actually not.

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