A guy thing?

I'm definitely not one for pain. I try to avoid it at all costs. I've had a gammy wisdom tooth for ages, and while it hasn't yet been much problem, I know it's going to be an issue in the (near?) future. And part of the tension for me is the knowing that at some point in the future I'm in for some considerable pain and discomfort.

So, I can't think of anything worse than knowing that at some specific point in the future I will have to endure an excruciating series of painful procedures. Imagine you're told that on September the 12th you're going to have each of your fingernails pulled slowly out while hot needles are inserted into the fleshy wound left by the extraction. And then just to make it really uncomfortable you're going to have your nuts squeezed in a vice to just-before-eruption-point.

How hard would the waiting be? The anticipation? The wondering? How could you concentrate? Do your daily thing? Read? Enjoy anything? I would spend the whole time a jibbering mess counting down the seconds to pain zero.

A girl at work is pregnant. My son's friend's partner has just given birth to a baby girl. A writer friend is due in June.

To be told that in seven or so months you're going to have to squeeze a large grapefruit sized object through a hole in your pelvis not usually bigger than a ping pong ball . . . well, you get the point.

Big ups to you, ladies.