40 and Childless by Design

The episode starts with the gals independently being horrified by the baby shower invitation from former party gal around town, bed-hopper Laney, who traded her g-strings for motherhood and domesticity in Connecticut.

Samantha, childless by choice, pipes up and declares motherhood in Laney’s case as a sad attempt to validate her existence.

Samantha would later vocalize what I’ve felt countless times.

Till this day, I am met with snide comments to the tune of “times ticking,” “so you’re really not gonna have kids?” and the accusatory, “you need to give your parents grandkids.”

So when people ask me if I have any children, I toggle between, “Oh God no! I’d rather die!” or the faux sad, “no…” hoping to imply tragedy so they feel so uncomfortable they leave me alone. Although the latter can backfire, eliciting more questions and “concerns.”

But perhaps my favorite SATC quote from this episode is between Carrie and Miranda, and the newfound wisdom that comes with age:

Some takes have aged better than others.

Who spends $40,000 on shoes on a columnist or even an author’s salary? How are you subsidizing your income, Carrie? This is pre-Only Fans!

Oh, wait…

In season 1, episode 5, “The Power of Female Sex,” Carrie gets a sexy foreigner to take her out on the town, pays for room service the next day, and leaves an envelope full of $100 bills on the nightstand. She then calls over her friends, they dine out on room service, and convince her to take the money, like what you’re gonna do now? Go back in time, sleep with him, and slink off in the middle of the night like a proper lady? No! It’s New York in the 90s! You were meant to live out loud! Take the money and run!

Later in the series (season 4), Carrie needs a down payment to buy her apartment that just went co-op, and Mr. Big, with very few questions asked, gives her a check for $30K! (They weren’t even involved at the time!) Granted, she doesn’t cash it, but instead, she shames Charlotte for being financially stable and fiscally responsible, and talks her into selling her engagement ring from her first marriage to use as her apartment down payment—girl power at its finest.