Scene: Hudson Books, Houston Hobby Airport, 5:30 a.m. (pre-coffee)
“How far along are you?” the young girl behind the counter cooed at me.
Five simple words that should bring so much joy. If I were actually pregnant.
“Wow.” It was all I could mutter. At first. And then the tirade started.
“Don’t ever ask anyone that question.”
“What?”
“I said don’t ever ask anyone that question.”
“What’s wrong?”
“What if I had just lost a baby?”
She was dumbfounded. Obviously she required further clarification.
“What if I’m having trouble conceiving? What if I’m struggling to lose the 20 pounds I’ve put on this past year due to stress and the delicate balance between depression and sanity?”
“I was just trying to start a conversation.”
“Well your conversation topic is both ignorant and insensitive.”
She was confused. The words were too big.
“Rude and stupid.” I clarified.
And then I stormed off.
And promptly felt like an asshole.
Clearly the cute black T-shirt dress I got on sale at Banana Republic isn’t as flattering as I thought. Or some people are just ignorant. Either way, I’m burning this dress and going for a run. And the next time I’m in Hudsom News at Houston Hoby Airport, I’m going to look for this girl and apologize for my early morning assholey tirade.
Wow! How many times does this lesson have to be learned? Geez. The good news is that I doubt she will ever do that again!
Justin Knight recently posted..10 Things You Should Know About The Missus
But really… you just shouldn’t ask that question. Something similar happened to me while I was waiting in line at Target. A mother in front of me was handling a small child and she was clearly pregnant. I noticed that her daughter had the same shoes that my daughter did. We talked a little as we were waiting. She asked if I was going to have another. I cringed–because I had just found out that our baby didn’t have a heartbeat. In that moment, I was waiting to miscarry. It was all I could do to get out of the line without crying right there.
I thought about that interaction for a while and decided that I was being overly sensitive. I was an emotional, hormonal mess. But even so, it made me wonder how we decide as a culture what constitutes “easy conversational topics with strangers.” That day in line at Target has certainly made me think more about what I think is appropriate for small talk.
Sharon Tjaden-Glass recently posted..Bullying