As I've mentioned in a few of my posts before, pregnancy comes with lots of fun wobbling, struggles of sitting up, getting up out of bed and the magic act of your feet disappearing. So you can imagine we the pregos of the world, minus the crazy marathon running champs out there, aren't exactly the speediest individuals of the bunch. As you can imagine the extra weight does keep us down and hey by the time you get to the end of the pregnancy, a foot massage is truly a gift from the gods as is any opportunity to sit your bum down especially on the bus, subway or street cars. Unfortunately being in this state has been a sad realization for many of the fabulous mothers I know out there where people will avoid eye contact and outright ignore you being in need of a seat in exchange for their own comfort. This of course doesn't just apply to us, it applies to the elderly and disabled as well. It's sad it what it is. I have to say though, I have been very fortunate to cross paths with many of the kinder individuals in this crazy city who are quick to give up their seats no matter how tired they look when they see me standing there and I'm always so grateful to them for it regardless of whether I accept the kind offer or not. It shows that kindness does still exist. So at this point you may be wondering "well what's with the post then?!". Well I'm getting to it.
As many of you may be aware I am one of the lucky individuals out there who is able to work out of my home office which is especially convenient when I need the extra snooze time. I do go into the office to get some face to face interaction from time to time to relieve my cabin fever and these tend to me my awesome days of social observation as well. Yesterday was one of these days. I arrived at the street car stop and when it arrived I started to wobble my way over to the door to hopefully get a seat. All was well (picture little turtle happy to be running a race) until a woman practically pushed me over in a race to the last seat on the street car.
Needless to say she beat me and avoided eye contact when I climbed my way up yet looked very pleased with herself for her achievement. I think I should have been upset or annoyed by her actions but truthfully I had to hold back hysterical laughter. This "big stupid" was taking pride in beating a very pregnant woman to a seat! That's like being proud of yourself for beating the Elephant lady from Who Wants to be a Millionaire in an IQ test for God's sakes!!
I didn't say anything of course and I stood there in this busy street car when suddenly this young boy sprung out his seat so genuinely apologetic that he had not noticed I was standing and proceeded to give up his seat. I declined but thanked him. It made me smile that there are parents out there that are teaching their kids kindness so they don't grow up to be like speed racer on the other side of me. I will make sure to teach my child good manners so they will be just like that kind boy that put a smile on my face.
Now on to the dirty looks. When pregnant, any sane and caring woman will give up her love of intoxicated indulgences like drinking and smoking. Sometimes even high heals, but believe me this last one is not by choice. We do not however, force all those around us to do the same. Which means we may occasionally go out to purchase booze or cigarettes for friends or spouses and heck even sit down in a bar and grab a bite with friends while sipping on a non alcoholic beverage which is still fine even when your baby is with you as long as your not in some crack den damn it!! We are pregnant, we are mothers, we are not dead! The dirty looks that we get however do not reflect this logic.
My husband is still a smoker and I do pick up smokes for him once in a while which gets me stabbing looks of hate unless I go to the corner store where they know it's not for me. Same with the liquor store, I know many of you who have experienced the hateful looks when you walk into the LCBO (funny enough not so much the Beer Store) to purchase booze for events. I know it's frustrating but you have to admit it's sort of funny. They probably are seeing an episode of intervention in their heads where you get home and turn into a belligerent drunk not caring about your baby's health. Have some faith people!! Give me a dirty look if you see me drinking or smoking but don't assume that's what I'm doing and punish me for it. It's not fair for you to judge my purchase the same way it's not fair for me to assume your face had an unfortunate meeting with a wall or an ugly stick causing you to look the way you do when I walk up to the counter. Mind you, I'm feeling bad for your face situation while you're wanting to lash out at me...at least my concern is genuine!
And that boys and girls, is my Friday rant. To end it off, I share with you a picture of some dude who stopped in the middle of a one way street to jump on the hood of his car and danced his little heart out. I took this yesterday while enjoying a mean fish curry dinner with a dear friend of mine on a patio (Oh yea I did) here in the hood. Where do I find these people?!
Happy Friday my lovelies.
Tash
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