The other day, I pulled into the mall parking lot and noticed two women getting out of the parking spot marked for "Expectant Mothers." These women were not pregnant. They did have two toddlers with them, both in strollers. I had to pee and was a bit irritated. Normally, I don't care where I park and sometimes even appreciate being forced to walk a little extra. On this day, however, I was not in the mood to walk. I ended up leaving a note on their car:
This parking space is for "expectant mothers." Not "people with strollers."
- Expectant (and very crabby) Mother
Okay, so I've become that person who leaves notes on strangers' cars. I should add that I have carpal tunnel in my right hand, so my handwriting looks a bit like that of a serial killer these days.
Also this week, I found myself really, really thirsty for a diet coke. I've tried to avoid artificial sweeteners (even though they've supposedly been deemed "safe" in multiple studies, I still feed guilty) throughout most of my pregnancy. But McDonald's fountain diet coke is just fantastic, and I caved on a small drink.
Okay, so I've become that visibly pregnant woman sucking on a soda. I should add that I was wearing a tank top, which might be considered a little trashy. Don't judge me. It was 80 degrees and sunny, and I was hot.
But the last straw came today. I went to the gym to swim laps at around 11 a.m. More often than not, there is at least one woman in the locker room in a state of undress. Sometimes this woman is elderly, sometimes heavyset. Even if the token naked woman in the locker room were Giselle, I'd still be uncomfortable. So I avert my eyes as usual to avoid any nakedness, swim my laps and come back to the locker room to shower. I wanted to not ride home with a wet suit on under my clothes, so I took my suit off in the shower. Then I wrapped myself up into the towel I'd brought from home, which was part of a set I'd received for - yes, it's this old - high school graduation. It was old, and also, towels made in the early 90s were smaller than towels are today. It didn't cover me quite like a beach towel. This made it difficult to get dressed modestly. An 80+ year old woman happened to be using the locker next to mine - she came around the corner right when I decided it was too much work to try to keep the towel over me and still balance on one foot to put my underwear on.
Oh my god. I've become that naked person in the public locker room.
I find myself becoming "that person" more and more in my advanced age. Your Diet Coke story hit home-yesterday we took the kids for a walk around the lake in Evanston, and we were (sort of, just a little) laughing at this stroller we passed that had a miniature umbrella clipped to the outside to sheild the baby from the sun, more than the normal sun sheild could provide. Dan had packed us lunches, and I too, was visibly pregnant, drinking a Diet Coke, and scoffing at a baby being protected from the sun. Ha ha ha...sun protection and artificial sweetners-I laugh in the face of safety!
ReplyDeleteAnyway, I get you!