Almost every male over the age of 15 knows better than to ask a woman if she’s pregnant. So why haven’t women learned not to ask?
Every non-pregnant woman that has ever been asked this question is emotionally scarred for…well, life really. Every woman knows what a horrible question this is; you would think they would never, ever ask it of another woman.
Women should only ask their friends after they drop hints like, “So after the baby comes” or only when they are obviously pregnant. The 8 month mark is a safe time to ask, and even then it is still only marginally safe.
A few years ago I was running some errands downtown after work and I happened to see Alice, one of my over 60 year old friends. I popped over to say hello to her and a woman whom I had never met. As Alice and I were chatting away, I felt an odd sensation on my stomach. I glanced down to find a hand that was not my own rubbing my stomach in wonder. I immediately stopped talking. The strange woman noticed the pause and burst into our conversation exclaiming, “You’re pregnant!”
I froze and stared at her with my mouth open.
Alice froze and stared at her with her mouth open…and then she hit her.
Once I got my mouth snapped back into place, I calmly removed her hand and told her that I wasn’t in fact pregnant but a bit chubby around the middle. I tried to put this obviously misinformed woman at ease despite her epic faux paus. After all, if I were to make such a glaring mistake, I would hope for some grace.
Do you know what she said next?
“Well, you sure look pregnant.”
There needed to be some back pedaling or severe remorse at this point! Even blank, uncomfortable silence would have been better than her snappy comment. Appropriate responses include:
"Of course you aren’t. I am severely delusional and off my meds.”
“Oh. My. Gosh. I am SO sorry.”
“No…no you are not…have I mentioned how much I like your outfit?”
In the code of womanhood, there should be a clause about never informing a non-pregnant woman that she looks pregnant.
I went home that night and had celery for supper.
Once a strange woman rubs your chubby tummy, you’ll even give up chocolate for a day or so in an effort to make yourself look less pregnant-esque.
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2 comments:
This has totally happened to me. It's the tummy touching that makes this question sooo awful. What gives anyone the nerve to touch a stranger's stomach? The tummy toucher joins an extremely short list of others who have touched my stomach - pretty much just my husband and my doctor. Hands off people!
Praying for you this week. :)
Hey Donloree it's Heidi! I love reading your posts because I can almost hear you telling the story! :)
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