the stare down

Ever since we announced that I am pregnant, a peculiar phenomenon began taking place. I first noticed when I was visiting with family. These people that I've known my entire life were no longer making eye contact with me. Weird. Instead, they seemed to be looking at my waistline. No, actually they were staring at my belly. I tried to explain their behavior away ... but no explanation seemed reasonable. And things have gotten stranger. In the last several weeks, everyone seems to be fixated on my tummy. And I mean everyone--friends, family, the butcher, the baker, the candlestick maker. Just when I was getting used to people chatting with my belly, one friend shocked me by pulling my shirt up to take a peek at it. I'm trying to make sense of all this. I really am. I've even talked to several moms who told me they've had similar experiences--the staring, the touching, the lifting up of shirts. I've come to understand that when you tell people you're pregnant, you're basically giving them a permission slip to violate your personhood. Wow. Who would have thought? So, I've got about 7 months left in my pregnancy, and I've decided that tender pats from close family and friends are perfectly OK by me. Anyone else will be patted back--with my fists! :)