Monday, September 24, 2007

"...never say anything to a woman that even remotely suggests that you think she's pregnant unless you can see an actual baby emerging from her..."

So, today I was in my LYS, sitting at the table, knitting on my sock. A woman who I've seen around there and had conversations with previously came in to buy a crochet hook. After announcing what she needs, she turns to me, and says, "Oh! I didn't know that you were pregnant. I always thought you were so young, 16 or so. But on Saturday, you were behind the counter, and you had that belly."

There was nothing that I could really say to that to express my confusion at the situation. I said to her, "its physically impossible for me to be pregnant right now."

My blank stare of confusion must have communicated something to her, because she said, "I'm socially awkward."

To which I responded, "So am I. That's why I knit socks."

I was baffled, though after she left, I did comment that apparently, its time for me to actually sign up for Weight Watchers.

Many thoughts have come to mind since this conversation.
  1. How does being 16 prevent pregnancy?
  2. Who says this sort of thing out of the blue?
  3. Do I really look 16? I'm quite certain that I look more grown-up than 16.
  4. Um, yeah, who says that sort of thing? And anyone got any tips on Weight Watchers or something else that worked for them?
and now, your PSA for the day. Think before you speak.

*Quote from Dave Barry

5 comments:

Carrie said...

A woman I work with has made the "oh, you're pregnant!" comment to a friend of mine on AT LEAST THREE OCCASIONS. I can understand once, but three times??

Anonymous said...

That's happened to me (mostly when I wear an empire waist - comfy, but not always flattering when you have a rack like mine!)

I mostly just feel sorry for the person that put their foot in their mouth - I have to say that "I'm socially awkward" is a great response!

Lacey said...

You know, I think that under the circumstances, this went as well as it could have possibly gone. I mean, she said she was socially awkward. Then you said you knit socks. And really, that is all just so strange that it nearly cancels out the pregnant remark. OH yeah. Never ever tell a woman she looks pregnant.

Katy said...

Yes, it did go about as well as could be expected. I was still floored by the whole thing. I think that part of it was her initial tone was one of congratulations, like she was sorry she had been so out of the loop and failed to say something before. And then, when I tried to clarify that she must mean someone else, she said, "oh, no, it wasn't her, she's so tall and thin."

Yeah, socially awkward. Both in the actual situation and the attempt at blogging.

DiiDii said...

Don't worry about silly people who say inappropriate things, but if you really are interested in information about dieting, I have had a good experience with Weight Watchers online. It costs every month, but it has a lot of cool devices for calculating nutritional information, and recipes, and forums and stuff. I have done in-person meetings but I am a lot more comfortable online, so this is working well for me. I have lost seven pounds in the last two weeks. (That was dieting and a little exercise.)