today's rant

I'm getting increasingly annoyed that just about every single conversation I have begins with, "So, how are you feeling?" or even better, "When are you due?" While we're at it, it would be nice to get through the day without being asked about whether I think it's a boy or a girl, and whether we've thought about names yet, and so on. The most annoying part is that you quickly realize that these questions are asked with the same level of sincere interest as is the "How are you doing?" that you get in the checkout line.

I know that people are just trying to be polite or whatever, but it's so predictable that it makes me want to scream, "I'm FINE!, How else would I be?" If I am in the grips of some minor discomfort at the moment, the last thing I want to do is dwell on it. And if something was really really wrong, I probably wouldn't be out and about going about the daily business of life. And let's face it, there's so many ways you can say you're doing just fine, and keep it sounding fresh. But the truth is, I'd rather talk about something else for a change. Maybe this makes me a bad horrible person, and I should be more grateful for all the unsolicited interest in my pregnancy status, but I really wish people would either treat me like a normal person--or just leave me alone! The latter is totally okay, trust me.

My standard answer is "Great!", and usually that's true. What I'm usually thinking though goes more like this: "I'm fine, the baby is fine, nothing to see here, babies come when they're ready, and I couldn't care less if it's a girl or a boy--as long as it has two arms and two legs, I'll be happy. Now is there anything else you need to know?"

Sometimes, I think people assume that just because I'm pregnant, I have to be miserable, or tired, or feel like life sucks or something. Sure it's not always a picnic every moment, but by the time it's visibly obvious to you, I'm well past the worst of it, or have gotten totally used to whatever changes or discomforts I've been dealing with. I realize that it's just part of our culture to inquire about women's pregnancies, but believe me, after so many months of being asked the EXACT SAME questions you start to feel cranky. Maybe this makes me look like a crabby person, but you know, I'm not crabby because I'm pregnant--I'm crabby because complete strangers off the street keep bugging me about how awful I must feel because I'm pregnant. Grrrr!

Moral of the story, never, ever ask a pregnant woman how she's feeling! Trust me, most of us would LOVE to talk about something--anything--else. If you're not sure where to start, there's always the weather...