Dr. Snippytubes*

After college, there are certain phases that you probably noticed you and all your friends passed through. There's the graduate school phase, move cross country (or at least to a new city) and get a job phase, the wedding phase, the buy a house phase, get a pet (or two or more), have a kid (or two or more) phase.

Of course, we all travel different paths in life and these generic phases don't pertain to everyone. The order of the phases may vary or you may have even omitted some entirely from your own life. But I would bet you can recognize a time when it seemed like everyone around you was in one of these phases, and you at least gave some serious thought to those ideas yourself.

In the last twelve years Mac and I have wandered through these phases along with our friends, and now we find our cohorts our entering a new phase: the permanent sterilization phase.

Yes, at the last three dinner parties I went to, vasectomy has been a major topic of discussion. One friend entertained a crowd by joking about his experience shaving himself, and I don't mean his five o'clock shadow!

And the topic seems to be coming up a lot in less formal gatherings as well. We visited friends in Phoenix; we talked about kids, for sure, but also Mac's friend's recent vasectomy. I've talked with girlfriends who are worried their husbands won't get on board for the procedure. We've talked about it with friends who come for dinner. It came up at a family gathering. The talk is all around us - no denying that we are entering that phase.

And so today, Mac had a "minor surgical procedure." I am sure he'd be happy to talk about it at your next dinner party.

(*-some names have been changed for identity protection).