Acne.

Oh dear, of all the greatest downfalls of womanhood, why acne?  As if puffy eyes and bloating aren't enough!  I can honestly say that the day the Pill left my life, I have had at least one, if not 7 or 8 very prominent pustules greeting my loved ones before I even get a chance.  It's a lovely time trying to cover them up with foundation, and treating them with who knows what concoction is on the market now, and when you think you've finally got the job taken care of, you see someone you know!  And as you stand and chat, thinking, 'Thank Heaven for Bear Minerals!" their eye begins to wander.  And you see them trying so hard not to stare at your chin.

We've all had that feeling.  For the lucky ones, it's usually a few days before your period, before you even get the accompanying bloat.  A pimple.  Just one.  Then it's sayonara for 28 days!  That was the life!

But now!  Oh sweet now.  Now, life without perfectly measured out hormones, being fed into my system every morning; now, as my body lives on its own, trying to hard to cope with daily life; now, as the world does everything but crumble down around me... a Pimple.  Two, three, four...

That's when life starts to get REALLY good.  One day, after spending all morning burying the colony in "Sunshine Bliss," you see your mother, and you greet her confidently with a smile, and you watch as her eyes try so hard not to stare at your chin, and your forehead, and your cheek, and the tip of your nose.  And she says something to the effect of, "Are you sure that this decision to bear a child is worth.... well... having pimples?"

At that moment, of course, you know exactly what the right answer is.  And we try our best to remember what the right answer is.  And every morning when we look in the mirror, we repeat to ourselves that "This is worth it!"  And it's true.  Every moment of embarrassment, every time our dignity depletes a little bit more, we look ourselves in the mirror, and think about that little one, that will be so totally worth it.  Worth the pain, worth the weight, worth the acne.  Worth every bit.

And then we get brave.  We stop worrying.  We stop wearing make up.  We stop staring, forlorn, into the bathroom mirror every morning.  We take it as it comes.  And that's when our peers stop looking at the one pimple!  That's when we realize that there's too many just to look at one!  We're covered!  Once again, we have eye contact!  Regular life commences, as vanity diminishes.  This is a whole new life.

And besides, Ladies, that marriage contract already has his signature on it.