I'm currently at a conference for work in Tucson, AZ. My field contains many older men and women and many young women about my age. Typically infertility is not too big of a problem in this environment because the topic of infants doesn't come up.
Side note: I'm an audiologist, I work with hearing loss and hearing aids. Not much of a baby topic usually except for the occasional kid I see for hearing aids. I am officially off diagnostic hearing test duty so I don't have to test the thousands of kids we see each year with ear infections. I have graduate students to do that work for me and it keeps me away from all the sickness, healthier in general and again, I'm trying to help keep myself as fertile as I can and kid germs are the worst.
At the last conference in Baltimore, MD back in November, the table of strangers I was sitting at instantly bonded over the fact that each of them had two children about the same age, 3 years old and 9 monthes old. There were three of them talking and I was between them. I couldn't participate...we have dogs and when I've tried the comparison thing between dogs and children before, people tend to get offended. So I sit there and nod along. About halfway through the weekend, I realize that the speaker is pregnant, just enough to show, but not enough to ask if you don't know the person well. It was a large conference of about 250 people so I didn't really have to interact with her.
At this conference now several months into her pregnancy, she is now obviously pregnant, I'd guess about 5-6 monthes along. She is the main presenter. She is an entertaining presenter and comments about her pregnancy enough as she speaks to maker her a likable, kind, funny person and interesting enough to keep everyones attention. Under different circumstances I'd want to be her friend. The way she talks, it seems as though you know her. Right now though, I hate her. She is the bane of my exisitance. I know that pregnancy came to easily for her to as someone mentioned that she was just married last summer to one of the higher ups in the company that is putting on the conference. I sat through her lecture for 8 hours today.
The good news is that my non-pregnant self got to enjoy sushi while here in Tucson and also, there is only one more day of torture before I return to the Dumpo to carry on with my regularly scheduled programming.
I see pregnant women everywhere- you are not alone. And there are quite a few people close to me that are pregnant right now. It's hard to deal with but all we can do is hope that one day it will be us!!
ReplyDeleteI too see them, baby bumps or small babies. Like in my face, but sure if that's what's on my mind that's what my attention is drawn to. It's hard, take a deep breath and enjoy that sushi!
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