First, I'll set the stage: I am sitting in a cafe with my bundle of joy, who is sleeping in the stroller and looking quite angelic. I've just sat down with a hot bowl of soup (it's cold in NY these days) and I'm about to take my first warm spoonfuls. Enter woman with a coffee and cookie who takes a seat at the table next to mine.
Woman - Your baby is adorable, so tiny. How old?
Me - Thanks! Around 3 months.
Woman - I've seen so many tiny babies lately. I saw a really small baby in the diner the other day, even smaller than yours. You baby is big for 3 months, right?
Me - Actually, yes.
Woman - I have to make a call to my husband.
Me - Okay. (I smile and assume that the conversation is going to end here)
Woman - I have to call my husband about my son. I got called into his school yesterday and they told me that he has (she starts poking around her scalp)...LICE.
Me - I'm sorry.
Woman - I was picking through his head last night and he asked what I was doing and I didn't want to tell him, so I said nothing. I have to call my husband and tell him that I got the special shampoo. I'll have to pick through his head again tonight.
Me - Oh.
Woman - It's so gross.
Me - Yeah.
Finally, the woman reaches her husband on the phone and proceeds to discuss the gross lice situation, including the special shampoo. I am left staring at my soup and unsure whether my appetite is fully gone or just partially.
While I was pregnant I found myself the victim of similar type conversations where a stranger divulged very random and often very awkward information to me. Yesterday's conversation reminded me of those pregnancy days. Somehow they already feel a light year away. Time flies once the baby arrives.
