Belly Button Bulging Banner = B: Blogging from A to Z

Although this post originally ran on our blog on January 19, 2012, I couldn't help but rerun it for B-day of the Blogging from A to Z Challenge.

My mom and I co-wrote Depression Cookies together, and she frequently writes here. She was helping me come up with letter-themed posts, and we just knew this was our perfect B.

Enjoy, and please come back to see what we come up with C-Z!

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Belly Button Bulging Banner

On a recent visit to see Tia, I commented on a pregnant lady whose belly button bulged like a balloon. I said, “I can remember being so embarrassed of my bulging belly button I put duct tape over it and wore two pair of panties.” Tia chuckled and said, “Mom, you need to write about it.”

Well, honestly what’s there to write about? It must be the new fashion to showcase the button. But I wonder? Are the same women who wouldn’t show their non-pregnant abdomen in the dark to their husband now getting rather bold? There’s no doubt I was excited and happy about my pregnancies; I wanted to tell everyone. I would have considered wearing a banner on my forehead. I might have considered a shirt slogan. But belly button exposure?

I’m the one who grew up with the I Love Lucy show. When Lucy was pregnant, she wore a tent. Her attentive husband didn’t see her bulging belly button; he couldn’t. And her demure nature caused him to be so gracious. He wouldn’t even allow Lucy the uncomfortableness of having to sit or disgrace herself by having him take her bag to the hospital, giving the impression she might be an invalid. Character was on the line. Protocol was sacred.

Have we turned an era curve? Something like the 1960s? Those brazen hussies had love-ins, sit-ins and sex anywhere. Skirts rose up to heights of no imagination. Bras were burned. Is this the new feminine badge of honor, the belly button bulging banner?  I’ve noticed a few proud women sporting the ultimate banner, displaying a stripe of brown pigment drawn straight down to the exit sign which could serve as further proof of brashness or braveness. Now the idea is taking on a new meaning.  

Maybe it’s a new form of freedom? Bare bellies are shining proudly in Zumba classes, beaches, and on the red carpet by some of our favorite stars. All of this makes me wonder... if I were young today, would I? Could I?

What’s next? Bare Breasts Bouncing Bodaciously?