The story behind the name:

One evening, at the Old Broadway Grill in Fargo, North Dakota, my brother caught the end of a Mountain Dew commercial. In the commercial, a Mountain Dew drinker was riding a shark in the ocean. My brother exclaimed in surprise, not realizing that it was a commercial. When I told him he declared "All I saw was a guy coming out of the shower with a shark." Of course, he meant water, but the idea of showering with sharks has been with me ever since.

Tuesday, February 24, 2009

I'll Tell You a Secret

I'm going to tell you a secret right now.

Here it is: Pregnant women don't want to hear your comments about how huge they are and how you can't believe that they still have x amount of days or weeks before they are due. I don't care if the woman has gained 70 lbs and has to be rolled around on the floor because she is so huge. I don't care if it looks like she has a fully inflated beach ball down the front of her shirt. I don't care if she has walk around with both hands under her stomach to support the weight of the baby. No pregnant woman wants to hear "Oh, you look like you are ready to pop at any moment!" Particularly if said pregnant woman has just disclosed that she has more than a month (or two or three) to go before her projected delivery date. If you are shocked when she says she has 8 week, SHUT UP. Keep your face neutral and stick to these stock responses:

Congratulations
How wonderful
You look beautiful
How exciting

Variations on these responses will work, but don't get too crazy. You can also combine any of these options if you feel the need to say more. For example, "Congratulations, you look beautiful" or "That is very exciting, congratulations. And, by the way, you look beautiful." Under NO circumstances should you say "Good luck with that" or "I'll be praying for you." As for the last comment, I'm certain many pregnant women appreciate the sentiment that you will be praying for her and her baby, but, put into this context, the comment is too easy to interpret as "I'll be praying for you, you are so huge with your giant mutant child that you are going to need it."
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3 comments:

  1. MnemosyneFebruary 24, 2009 at 3:37 PM

    Who are these people? I'll beat them up.

    ReplyDelete
  2. UnknownFebruary 24, 2009 at 6:16 PM

    Oh my, I remember those days. I was so huge with Kaniel all the patrons at a restaurant would stop what they were doing and stare as I lumbered to my table and dropped into a chair. I also remember looking longingly at the handicapped parking as I drove by.
    Just give those rude people a vague smile and say, "I can't imagine why you would say such a thing"

    ReplyDelete
  3. David LapakkoFebruary 26, 2009 at 1:18 AM

    Gosh, I might get beaten up. I shall only provide a generic "best wishes"--and I still may get beaten up for that! Please don't hurt me.

    ReplyDelete

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