7.08.2006
is it really so bad...
... that sometimes I like to watch people twist awkwardly while they attempt to figure out what I'm, like, doing all day? It's usually someone I run into at a party, someone who hasn't seen me in a while, and I can see in their face that they are trying to determine whether I have a job, or am looking for a job, or failing to find a job. So I ask them what they are up to, in detail, and then they either aren't brave enough to ask me, or they try to figure it out obliquely, by asking whether baby is in daycare.
I do sympathize. After all, it's dangerous to ask a woman with a child whether she works, or "works outside the home," or whatnot. You don't want to assume she's at home with the baby, but you don't want to assume she's not.
What you shouldn't do, however, is assume she's pregnant again. Even if, like me, she's still wearing maternity tops 11 months after the fact. (They're comfortable, damnit, and I loved my pregnancy clothing.) Because when you assume, you make an ass out of you. Just you.
I do sympathize. After all, it's dangerous to ask a woman with a child whether she works, or "works outside the home," or whatnot. You don't want to assume she's at home with the baby, but you don't want to assume she's not.
What you shouldn't do, however, is assume she's pregnant again. Even if, like me, she's still wearing maternity tops 11 months after the fact. (They're comfortable, damnit, and I loved my pregnancy clothing.) Because when you assume, you make an ass out of you. Just you.
