Friday, October 26, 2007

Oblivious Babies R Us Lady

Jeff and I were in Babies R Us on Wednesday buying a cartload of bottles, diapers and onesies. Neither of us could remember how many bottles we needed so I did the quick math. Let's see, they eat every 3 hours so that's 8 bottles per day. HOLY COW! How quickly we forget! But I digress, that's not the story I wanted to share.

While browsing in the health care aisle, I said to Jeff "I think we need another pair of nail clippers."

"You're kidding," he replied.

"Well, they get dull pretty quickly."

A young woman with a petite baby bump holding 2 pair of nail clippers and looking a little lost said, "do you already have a child?"

"Yes, we did." I reply cautiously.

::Silence::

"She actually passed away last April," I add.

"Oh, well did you get to clip her nails?" she asks. [Ed note: Clearly she has a one-track mind.]

"Yes, of course."

"Well, do you really need these clippers or can you just use what you've got at home?" she asked.

"Well, you can certainly use what you've got at home as long as they're small enough to cut tiny fingernails and big enough to get a good grip. It's kind of hard to hold on to squirming little hands and nail clippers at the same time."

"Oh." She still looks perplexed.

"When are you due?" I asked, trying to be polite.

"I'm 36 weeks along." she replies beaming.

Stunned that this adorable little bump could house a 36 week old baby I regroup and reply, "Wow, not much longer then huh? You'll have a great Christmas present."

"Yep, we're actually hoping for Thanksgiving even though my doctor is going to be on vacation."

"Good luck!" I say encouragingly.

"Thanks. When are you due?" she asks.

::Silence::

"Uh, we're adopting so it could be anytime."

"Oh great! Congratulations! Good luck!!!" she responds with enthusiasm and rounds the corner out of view.

Clearly I need work out.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

awww... don't assume the worst! you do NOT look pregnant! (you do have that pregnang glow, tho ;)) it's nice that after you told her lillian had very recently passed away, she just responded like it was the most ordinary news she's ever heard. weird. i hope she sprang for the baby clippers!!! -Becci :)

The Tucson Gang said...

Some people are clueless! No big deal - you've already spent the better part of the year spreading valuable information about childhood cancer, death and grieving and the open adoption process to some of us who were clueless...consider this an extension.

Happy Shopping! Everything is just so darn cute in those little sizes!!!

Anonymous said...

Aw man, I had this whole big note typed to you and clicked "publish your comment" and wha'da'ya know? It didn't publish. That was yesterday so I thought I'd try again tonight! So yesterday I got on here and wow, I realized I was way behind in my updates. I was 3 behind. Obviously I gotta check this more. Anyways, I am so excited for you!! How awesome that you are finally in the pool! And your letter to the birthparents was very nicely written. You're an excellent writer! I love to write and my goal is to be a writer, along with being an attorney. I think writing is so much fun! Well, Congratulations and I still hope to meet you soon! Love, Emily

Anonymous said...

PS
I totally am spacing and forgot to put this - don't worry about the Babies R Us Lady. Maybe she looked perplexed because you don't look pregnant at all and you were at the baby store. Just a thought!
Well, bye for now!
~Emily

Anonymous said...

first of all, i'm glad i can spell the word pregnanT. second of all, i voted for 1-3 months, but am hoping for less than a month!!! -Becci :)

Lori said...

Just to clarify, I'm not looking for sympathy. I know I could stand to lose a few lbs but really, I thought the whole thing was funny. This woman was just so...oblivious! It's the only word I can come up with that accurately describes the conversation. She just really wanted advice on those darn clippers. I think it's particularly funny that in the scheme of the mega bucks you spend on bottles and diapers and all the other necessities, she didn't want to blow $1.99 on clippers.