Central Market

Poor Tony has a cold or possibly a sinus infection. In an effort to pamper him into wellness I suggested a run to Central Market for fancy soup and some sort of bakery treat (he chose olive bread). Now that I am 9 months + it is obvious to any casual observer that this here is a pregnant lady. I am also having sporadic contractions of a Braxton Hicks-y nature. These are not as painless as I was lead to believe by all my obsessive pre-natal research.

So here I am, clearly pregnant, having an uncomfortable moment in the cookie isle when suddenly I am buffeted aside by a late 30's woman and her male friend. No "excuse me" or even a warning grunt to let me know that they wanted the entire isle to themselves. Just a shove via their cart.

At that point I started paying attention to the reactions my pregnant self engendered amongst the Memorial Day shoppers.

Teenagers: Used their youth and vigor to rush way ahead of me, thus preventing any interaction.
Men over 60: Let me go first without making any eye-contact
Women over 60: Cut in front of me while looking me in the eye.
Women with kids: Not only made eye contact, smiled, and let me go first..but actually moved obstacles out of my way!

This last group universally had their arms full of children/food/purse but they still made the effort. It reminded me of Chicago when everybody would vacate their seats when a pregnant lady stepped on the train. I vow to follow these ladies example and be extra considerate to fellow mothers.

P.S. I can't imagine my Mother, Grandmother, or Mother-in-law cutting anybody off (pregnant or not) in the supermarket.