They walked slowly and with apparent effort and their gait actually reminded me of the way I walk right now, pregnant sick and slightly crippled. They made me think about how similar many of my symptoms are to the symptoms of old age, the indigestion, the swelling, the upset stomach, the painful joints and general discomfort. βAt least my pain has a timeline,βΒ I thought. 9 months of this and my body will start to bounce back.
Older women experience symptoms equal to or worse than Iβm experiencing but their due date is never or at least not in this life. Maybe they’ve earned the right to be cranky. I’m so glad that so many of them don’t take advantage of the excuse. I can’t say as much about myself.
Read more about my encounters with old ladies at [Parenting.com]
Kathryn you rock my world. I have so much respect for you. I ‘m thinking of you mostly because you make me laugh. Hang in there, you are one of the strongest people I know. Take care
this is hilarious. ever since i was pregnant i call myself an old lady..whining about my hips and walking funny…
So true!
While I was pg I constantly thought about how people who have weight problems must suffer… Carrying around a bunch of extra weight is HARD WORK and uncomfortable.
I also was so glad to know there was an end in sight.
You are so right! After I read this post, a few days later, my husband and I took our five month old to a little tea shop on a Sunday afternoon. Usually, it’s a spot for granola type retired folks to enjoy tea and reading the paper, or a spot for bikers (of the foot powered kind) to catch lunch and a bite to eat before heading onto the ferry to take them back home. But on Father’s Day, it was full of young families out enjoying the day with their dads. So it was with a lot of fun that I watched exactly the three types of people you listed.
One lady looked so shocked, afraid, and as if she wasn’t sure how to identify the three foot specimen called boy that accidentally ran into her as he was running to tell his father that lunch would be served soon. Another lady glared daggers at a three year old who was protesting that he really wasn’t in the mood to pee when his mommy tried to make him take a bathroom break. It was as if she was ready to dole out parenting advice right then and there, and then she’d send the tot off to reform school. She glared even more at me when she noticed me smiling and laughing at the sight. And then there were the people who came up to the table next to me to admire the two little ones eating their pastries and to ask how old they were, then they smiled over at us as they watched our son try to swipe his mommy’s veggie wrap.
I told my husband all about your post, and he totally agreed that we had just witnessed the three types. We by far prefer the last type. The first type isn’t so terrible, but the middle one should be sent off to a deserted island before they sour the whole planet. Either that, or they should be tickled by a bunch of five year olds until they cry uncle and agree that children in all of their childlikeness and exuberant energy are blessings to behold.
during my 3rd pregnancy I ended up a part-time caretaker for my husband’s grandmother, who was about 92. we were the perfect pair. we had a hard time getting up off the couch. we liked to take it slow. we took lots of breaks. we ate lots of small snacks. π
how sweet of you to appreciate the old ladies’ endurance. hang in there!