When John and I were driving home from the beach on Friday, we stopped in a Safeway that had a starbucks to get the token road trip lattes. I saw a 2-pound container of blueberries on sale for $5. Resisting the urge to drool and/or start eating them right there in the middle of the produce section, I made my way to the express line that was just opening up. Two older gentlemen (friends, it seemed) with carts got there first. The one with a portable oxygen tank wearing a nasal cannula looked at me, “That all you got?? Charles, let the woman go in front! That all she got!” I blushed, thanked him, and squeezed my way to the front of the line. The cashier rang me up and I pulled out my wallet to pay, but I was interrupted by the same fella, “Oh honey, that’s on us! You have a good weekend, mmmkay?” I was touched and surprised, I just hope I did something to show my appreciation before I awkwardly waddled back over to John. And they were the best flipping’ blueberries I’ve had all season!
Yesterday was one of those epic days spent almost entirely eating and walking, an excuse to really enjoy my city by showing it to wonderful friends (and New Yorkers and Bostonians are a tough sell!). I feel like pregnant women have a perpetual battle between staying hydrated and not peeing every 10 minutes. But yesterday was viciously hot, so I opted for the former. As we passed a nearly empty pub on 2nd street, I decided to go for it. When I sweetly asked the proprietor if I could use the facilities, he initially declined and said they were for customers only. But as I turned to leave, one of the patrons admonished him, “Roy, what the hell are you doing?” And I was stopped, “Oh, yeah. Of course, help yourself.” A moment later, while walking from the restroom to the door, I thanked him again and he replied, “Anytime. And sorry. I didn’t notice your…status…ya know, until you, like, turned sideways.” Me and my “status” consider it a compliment.
People are not going to be so nice when the kid is out the womb, right?
Tomorrow’s my first day of my Ob/Gyn rotation. I’ve been cautioned by friends to try not to freak out too much.
anna in med school 
You ran across some exceptionally nice people. When I was enormously pregnant and took Metro in DC, all seats were often taken. I used to stand right in front of the seats for the elderly and disabled, with my big ol’ pregnant belly practically sticking in people’s faces. Once, a yuppie in an elderly/disabled seat sat tight and muttered to the yuppie in the other seat something about those people getting pregnant and expecting to get a seat. On the BART in San Francisco, my husband and I swapped our first baby (Patrick) back and forth as we stood in front of any number of people who could have given one of us a seat. Finally Patrick got hungry and I started to nurse him while standing up. Somebody looked disgusted and got up to give me his seat, grudgingly. (Probably “those people” nurse babies on the subway so as to get a seat, too.)
Oh. My. Goodness. That’s horrible! I’m so sorry! I should say that, in general, people have been pretty nice to us in Philly–I’m thinking about the woman who last year pulled off the side of the road to let me know my skirt was gathering in my bike, or the men who helped me up when I fell off and broke my shoulder, walked me back to my apt, and carried my bike in. I kind of think it earns its title as the city of brotherly love. But I would think that in San Fran at least people would be more progressive! How ridiculous!
Enjoy the status and don’t freak out while on the ob/gyn rotation!
hahah! will do, and many thanks!
Good luck on OB-GYN! I hope you’re getting your care from some outside hospital — I ran into my gynecologist on my GYN rotation and it was pretty awkward! I don’t know if it made it better or worse that she didn’t recognize me (. . . from the waist up, I suppose :p )
Thank you! That’s hilarious, by the way 🙂 I actually am doing my rotation at the same hospital at which I’ll be delivering, but it’s a pretty big institution, and it’s kind of a nice opportunity to get a lay of the land, so to speak. I ran into two of the midwives, one of which let me assist on one of her births!!