I have a lot of friends who are pregnant right now. Two of my closest friends, and my older sister are all pregnant with baby girls and due in June. I'm so excited for all of them, even though I know that means my wallet is going to be even emptier than it already is. Anyway, for my two girlfriends, these babies will be their first, and for my sister, her second. As they have gone through their pregnancies, I've gotten to hear a lot of their annoyances with husbands, and people in general, making comments that aren't appropriate or just piss them off. One thing all men, especially men with pregnant wives, need to remember is the fact that pregnant women are ALWAYS right. It doesn't matter if they say it's raining outside when it's actually sunny and clear. They're right. And you better not tell them they're wrong, or you will endure the wrath that might include lack of conversation for several days. I was talking to my sister this evening about things people say to pregnant women, and it brought me back to my pregnant days. You'd be surprised what people say to pregnant women. It's shocking.
I'm not a very big person, so when I got pregnant with Charley, I showed RIGHT away. Apparently, that meant there must be twins, right? Well, that's what everyone was telling me. I especially loved when I was 3 months along and this woman who was like 5'11" and skinny as a rail told me I looked the way she had at 6 months. I was like... Sweet! Thanks lady! You've got nearly a foot on me, so clearly more room for the kid to go. I, on the other hand, at 5'3" (on a good day) didn't really have anywhere for the kid to grow, but out. Plus, my family is known for having big babies. My grandmother is a twin. She and her sister were BOTH 9 pounds at birth. Torture, much? Anyway, I got lots of comments like that. A whole lot of, "Oh my gosh, I can't believe you're still working! You look like you're about to pop! When are you going to have that baby?" Ummm....let me tell you, when you can't sit, walk, stand, or lie down comfortably, nobody wants that baby to come out more than a pregnant woman. I wanted to say, "I was hoping I would have had it yesterday, so I wouldn't have to lug a bowling ball around, thanks." I refrained, from comment, though. Ha! I was so grateful for the beautiful (and thin) parent of one of my students who said, "You're 5 months along? You look amazing! At 5 months, I looked like a whale!" She'd made me so happy, I wanted to cry. I probably did. And I'm not much of an emotional person!
My general advice when speaking with pregnant women is as follows:
1. Criticize NOTHING. Do not comment on anything unless it is a compliment.
2. Do not mention how she looks, unless you're planning to tell her how amazing she looks.
3. Don't mention weight. Not your weight, your kid's weight, CERTAINLY not her weight. Just avoid it at all costs.
4. Don't call names, or say no to anything in the last few months. Just do as she requests. Or you will pay the price. Ha!
With all that said, I think I was a pretty calm pregnant woman. I just whined to my also-pregnant friend about the stupidity of people's comments. We commiserated together.
Okay, here's a teacher story for you today. When I started teaching in Vegas, it was November, and the students had already had 6 teachers. They were a handful, to say the least, but I liked the challenge. Anyway, I had several sets of siblings in my class, because we were on a year-round track schedule at the time (one group of students would be out of school, while other groups were in school). Basically, if a student had a twin, or a sibling who was older/younger than them in the same grade(which wasn't uncommon in this school), they had the same teacher so they would be on the same schedule. Anyway, I had a brother and sister pair in my class. I'll call them Terrell and Tanya. I think I'd been in the classroom for about two weeks, when Terrell was messing around when we were walking in line to go to recess. He was one of the cool kids, and always putting on a show. Remember, these students had already had 6 teachers, so I was dealing with a lot of bad behavior, but Terrell wasn't really much of an issue. I did notice another teacher give Terrell a look, though, when I called him out. I didn't think much of it, because the teachers were still judging my ability as much as anything else. So, Terrell got called out in line. Not a big deal. I dealt with him, and we all moved on.
Several class periods later, I was teaching writing when I heard a pounding on my door. Not a knock. It was POUNDING. I opened the door to see another teacher (whom I hadn't yet been introduced to). She was big, and she was intimidating. "I need Terrell, please. Now!" she barked. I watched all of the color drain from Terrell's face, as Tanya sat there grinning from ear to ear. Terrell slowly crept toward the door. "Get out here!" the teacher bellowed at him. "Hurry up!" I'm not going to lie, the woman scared the crap out of me at the time. I got everybody working, and walked over to Tanya. "Who is that?" I asked. "That's our Auntie!" she exclaimed, clearly thrilled to watch her brother get pulled out of class for a scolding. It made sense to me then. She didn't want her family embarrassing her at school! Minutes later, Terrell reemerged, with tears in his eyes, avoiding eye contact with everyone. His auntie held the classroom door open, and hollered, "If you have ANY trouble with him, you just let me know." She glared in his direction. I smiled, nervously, and replied, "Okay!" The next day, I received a hand-made card from Terrell, which stated, "Dear Mrs. Pierron,
I am sorry I was not behaving. I will not do it again. I will listen in your class ALL the time. If you have any problems with me, you can call my auntie. Love, Terrell" Classic.
*Sidenote- Yes, it's true the teacher who glared at Terrell in line TOTALLY tattled on him. Who tattles on a 10 year old? Ha!
No comments:
Post a Comment