~* Reason #2: You're Obligated To Make Small Talk With Other Parents *~

I was sitting in the waiting room at the GYN office today- completely unrelated to pregnancy- and there were maybe 8 other women, all with children, most expecting another one. Let me also mention that my GYN is located at Womack Army Medical Center, so most of the patients are army wives or military personnel.

I was sitting in the 3rd row of seats, the only female unaccompanied and childless. In front of me was a very pregnant, 30-something white woman with an unattractive 2-year old girl in a stroller with chocolate all over her face and TinkerBell on an iPhone. A much younger, low-ranking, black female sat down next to her with her little boy, who was the same age as the little girl. Instead of just reading a book or flipping through pictures on Instagram, these women felt an obligation to speak to each other. And it was an awkward situation. The age difference became painfully obvious very quickly. From the differences in speech patterns, to the different developmental levels of the children, it was difficult to witness. The hardest part was when the younger female mentioned that she had a daughter whose favorite show is "Toddlers and Tiaras"- I actually saw the older female physically shift away a bit. Mercifully, the younger female was called back right after that.

Why do women do this to themselves? Aside from a polite "Hi, how are you?", I don't usually feel any obligation to speak to a stranger. Especially if I'm in a doctor's office. I'm there for a reason, probably fairly personal, and I assume you are also. I'll respect your space, please do the same for me. I also know you're not supposed to judge a book by its cover, but I feel like a lot of times, I can tell if I will have something to actually talk about with someone. I would definitely do my best to avoid making a statement that would cause someone to look down on me. In turn, I hope that I do my best to avoid looking down on others, too.

All I'm saying is that children aren't enough of a reason to start a conversation with someone. I'm not going to open dialogue with a complete stranger because we're both wearing jeans and Converse. And I won't feel bad about it, either.