Hands On

While you can usually walk the streets of NYC (or Hoboken, whatever the case may be) as a virtual unknown amongst the crowds, the tides definitely turn when you're sporting either an injury (crutches, cast, etc.) or a baby bump. Suddenly, it's like there's a spotlight on you as you walk down the street, drawing out the stares, smiles, and general odd-ball behavior from passerby.

I remember Bec having some funny incidents when she was hobbling around with her stress fracture a couple years back, and now I've started to experience some myself. There are the comments ("God bless you and your baby!" Or, my favorite, "Another one?" when I was pushing Sam around the other day). There are the unsolicited stories: One woman told me how awful of a month August is to have a baby--she had hers in August, you know, and swelled up like a whale and spent two nights in the hospital due to dehydration.

And then there's the whole belly-touching-by-strangers bit. I was warned this would happen, but didn't think New Yorkers had it in them to just randomly touch my stomach. But that was until today, when the hands of a Starbuck's barista landed firmly on my bump. If she wasn't a sweet-seeming grandma type, I may have thrown my decaf iced mocha right back at her. I go to that Stbx all the time, so let's just hope she doesn't make reaching-out-and-touching me a habit!