Bridezillas

I'm dealing with a couple of bad customer service issues right now, and I was planning on possibly having to throw a temper tantrum to get my way tomorrow.

Then I watched Bridezillas.

I'm sure many of you have seen this show, but I've not really watched it before today. It's a reality show about brides-to-be who act like complete and total selfish little brats. I know no one is perfect, and that we all act like toots from time to time, but these girls take the cake. I am dumbfounded that there are really women out there who act so horribly and treat everyone around them with such disdain. I am dumbfounded that they are proud of the way they act. And I am dumbfounded that the people around them let them get by with this behavior.

Yes, it's the people around them I blame most for such ugliness. I blame the people who raised them and never backhanded them into next week when they were little and tried to pull this crap. Because let's get real, sweet girls don't suddenly turn into little devils the second they get a ring on their fingers. I also blame their friends who watch them spiral into madness and don't call them out on their behavior. And I blame the service providers who do business with them, despite the way they're treated. No employee should ever have to put up with that crap, no matter what the price.

And I'm sure you wouldn't be surprised to hear that these Bridezillas' bad behavior is inversely proportional to their class, intelligence, taste and beauty. (Although they make sure to tell us -- usually at the top of their lungs -- just how classy and intelligent and tasteful and beautiful they are as often as possible each episode.)

One highlight of the show is that the narrator makes fun of these girls the whole time. I wish I had that job.

The other good thing about the show is that it really opened my eyes to my own bad behavior. I think I'll be much less likely to pitch a fit in order to get my way from now on. I'll pay more attention to how the things I say might be interpreted. And I'll certainly be much more cautious of the message I'm sending my children, and of how I respond when they act bratty.

I'm still going to have to make a couple of phone calls tomorrow. But here's hoping I don't act like a Bridezilla. To help me, I've written a Bridezilla Serenity Prayer:

God, grant me the serenity to peacefully deal with nasty people,

the courage to discipline my children forcefully in public if that's what it takes to prevent them from growing up to be nasty people,

and the wisdom to recognize when I am being a nasty person.

A-FREAKIN'-MEN