Wednesday, May 28, 2014

stop talking. now. NOW.

There's one tiny Mexican restaurant in our tiny little town. Not Athens, obviously-- there are at least 100 Mexican restaurants in Athens, thank God, but in the little town where our house actually is...there's one. Therefore we eat there at least once a week. I won't disclose what the max number of times we've visited it in a week is...that would be embarrassing (but less so if you think of it from the perspective that I'm just trying to support small local businesses...). Anyway, for the past several years, we spend every Tuesday evening there with Matt's family. Taco Tuesday is one of my favorite parts of the week.

Last night our crowd was slim-- just Matt, his dad, and me. Matt's sister Amy is due to give birth to our newest niece any minute now (or, technically...two days ago...) and so Matt's mom is up in NC with her. We're friends with the family that owns the restaurant (obviously, since we're probably the main reason they're still in business) and the waitress, so it was normal for them to inquire about where Matt's mom was when they noticed her absence. We told them about the impending arrival of our niece, which soon turned into a short, sweet discussion about babies in general and how cute and sweet they are. Nothing wrong with that.

But then.

I'm sorry, it's taking me a minute to figure out how to even tell this story.

Please recall who is sitting at our table. Me, Matt, and my father-in-law.

We're friendly with the workers there, but in a normal-small-town-restaurant-owners/workers-frequent-diner way. Like, we chat once or twice a week while ordering dinner and refilling beverages. We don't talk on the phone or invite each other over to our houses. We're not roommates or cousins. We're not even Facebook friends.

So I'm having a hard time figuring out how our conversation so quickly turned wrong.

Here was the progression. Pretend this is a fancy flowchart.

Mom isn't here because Amy's having a baby-->Babies! Yay! Yes, it's a girl. Yay, girls are great!-->Our waitress can't believe how quickly babies grow up. Her youngest is already 13 months!-->All three of our waitress's babies were conceived while she was on birth control. She is the most fertile person ever!-->Yep, the first one was the shot, the second one was an IUD, and the last one was the arm implant thing. But after the last one she had surgery so now there REALLY SHOULD NOT BE ANY MORE!!-->But still, there's a chance that she's pregnant, maybe.



If you ever see me making this face while you're telling a story, there's a 100% chance you should stop telling your story

Yes. I'm sure that Matt and his dad were SUPER pumped to find out all of that about our friendly waitress!

I mean, infertility issues and over-sensitivity aside...isn't that pretty much ALWAYS INAPPROPRIATE UNDER ALL CIRCUMSTANCES (to share with strangers...not like, your doctor or your best friend)??

I was slightly tempted to respond with the tales of the 71 cycles that Matt and I have tried and failed to get pregnant, or the variety of drugs, surgeries, and specialists that haven't worked for us. Or maybe shown her pictures of the baby that we thought would be ours but wasn't. Or maybe just faked a stroke and had someone call me an ambulance to get me out of there.

But I didn't. I just made variations on that face and ate my taco really fast.

I don't know if any of yall are waiters, but here's a valuable tip if you are. Maybe don't share that stuff with random patrons.

To be honest, it didn't really upset me all that much. I think I was so busy being amazed and awed by the insane inappropriateness of the whole thing that it shielded me from being hurt. And now I'm telling yall and we can all have a big laugh at it, so perhaps the experience was valuable after all. 

But still. Just...no. Stop.

28 comments:

  1. Infertility makes you realize how oblivious (and other adjectives that aren't nice) some people are. :( Sorry your taco was ruined by this unnecessary dialogue!

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  2. Ugh...just ugh! So I'm curious as to what your thoughts are on going back?

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    1. Ha! NO worries...I will continue to happily eat there way more frequently than I should! I'm not easily scared off from great and convenient food!

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  3. Oh my gracious! Why? Just why? That's got to be one of the oddest, most inappropriate discussions to have with semi-strangers, two of which are men. Infertility aside, my husband would DIE if someone mentioned an IUD and he's a DOCTOR! Rule #1 of good table manners: don't mention your female parts or things that go inside them at the dinner table... gross!!! You and Matt handled that like champs!

    P.S. Your lipstick/gloss looks particularly fabulous today!

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  4. You know, sometimes I think I need a filter when I speak, but then I run into people like that waitress and I realize I'm good, I tell normal stories and don't over share. What an awkward dinner!

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  5. Some people have no idea at all what's going on in the world around them. It's almost as if she opened her mouth and all that useless info came pouring out like hot lava. I truly believe some are just clueless!
    To think she almost ruined Taco Tuesday!!!

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  6. Ugh, how awful! People just don't think. I once had someone tell me they were pregnant in front of a group of people that they were pregnant (first mistake) then they went on and on about how easy it was and how they just did it once etc etc. Situations like that are so annoying when you're dealing with infertility, but I completely agree with you that it's just plain inappropriate (and disgusting) no matter the circumstance. I don't want to hear about how many times you did the deed while I'm trying to eat, thanks.

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  7. Thank God for the taco, so many people just don't THINK before they speak... that's kind of creepy that she was telling you guys such personal information. Some people just have no filter.

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  8. I just don't even know how to respond to this. I mean, really. I'm kind of embarrassed for Matt and his dad that they had to sit through the conversation...it's just so inappropriate. Birth control and baby-making is something you discuss with your partner, your doctor, and maybe your closest friends...not some friendly faces you happen to see on a weekly basis. If I don't know you well enough to tell you your middle name, chances are I don't know you well enough to need to know your reproductive habits. (And it doesn't count if you go by both names or just your middle; in that case, I would at least need to know the name of your first pet fish or something of equal value before you lead with the baby-making bomb.)

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    1. Ha! I love this! Erika, guard your middle name closely!

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  9. It never ceases to amaze me how many people just don't have tact, or manners, or anything everyone should have. I don't need to know your life story and the dirty details. If you'd like me to know you should probably go on 16 and Pregnant or something, because that's where I get my weekly fill of drama.

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  10. Oh my. I cannot imagine. You have way more grace than I would have in that situation.

    Also I love that you go there every Tuesday. That's a great tradition.

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  11. No No No. Just No.....I hope next time you guys can only talk about the weather and how tasty the margaritas are! Also I love your necklace in that picture!

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  12. Wowzers! I'm glad at least your taco was still enjoyable as you gobbled it down. That picture of you is fantastic for this post.

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  13. That face! Oh my gosh, I am just amazed at what some people flap their lips about. Amazed I tell ya! Hopefully the taco that you inhaled was fabulous and off set the disgusted look on your face.

    I perosnally, would have seriously faked the stroke.... At least thats a heck of a lot more entertaining than listening to her.

    *Note to self, watch for facial expressions when talking to Erika!

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  14. It's too bad you couldn't spit in her food, since she was the waitress and not the other way around... I hope you at least spit on the check.

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  15. The picture of your face made me crack up. Oh my gosh. Can't believe the entire conversation. Glad it wasn't me because I would've had a hard time not being rude. Your poor hubby and father-in-law, too!

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  16. Ew... you had me dying at IUD, can't believe she said that GROSS!!! Sooo funny!

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  17. Gag. Same thing happened to me last week... ok, not exactly the same, but a girl at a pampered chef party went on for 20 minutes about how cruel life is that all three of her babies including the one on the way were unplanned surprises while on birth control and wagh wagh wagh. I responded "Hmm. Sounds like you're doing it (birth control) wrong." I mean, what do you say to that?! Oh and I love your lip gloss. Makes me want to go to Ulta NOW!

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    1. "Hmmm. Sounds like you're doing it wrong"
      Oh, I love it! Have been a part of a very similar conversation (the woman had five children each one was an ooops) and didn't have the guts to say anything.

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  18. Wooooow.... I'm gonna blame this one on the whole "Facebook overshare syndrome" that has been plaguing our country (world?) for years now. Do I want to know that you're violently ill and running to the bathroom every five minutes? Do I want to know that you and your significant other have some "sexy time" planned for later? Do I want to see a photo of your gross open wound gushing blood? NO. NO, NO, NO! Ugh. I'm sorry that this girl chose your table to open up to. Way to ruin Taco Tuesday.

    But that face is most excellent. I really hope you didn't give her a big tip.

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  19. Barf. I hope her chip-basket-filling skills are better than her people skills!!

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  20. That is awful! Seriously? I can completely imagine this conversation playing out. AWKWARD. Maybe not on her end but you, your dad & your hubby probably couldn't wait for her to stop talking! OMG. People really are oblivious to what goes on around them! Love the pic of your face though...cracked me up. HUGS:)

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  21. Faking a stroke, definitely the best option. That sounds absolutely awful, I'm sorry you had to go through this. If she is sharing that much with you, I'm guessing she is a very lonely person and probably over-shares everything with everyone.

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  22. Wow. I definitely give you so much credit. I for sure would have faked a stroke!

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  23. That story is awful on so many levels! I am so sorry that you had to go through that. People can be so unaware of others and the possibility of any struggles they may be going through. But at least your WHAT?! face is pretty darn cute and I am loving that necklace!

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I love comments almost as much as I love Mexican food. Seriously.