The Rationale for 'Stomach-In''

August 29, 2010 “Ma’am hindi po ba buntis?” The ticket lady asked me.
I didn’t answer.
Maybe she was talking to the LetLet who was standing beside me. She is bigger anyway. “Ma’am hindi po ba buntis?” She repeated.
I couldn’t believe my ears. I must have asked “Ako Ba?” more than once.
“ Hindi po ba buntis?…bawal po buntis…may sakit sa puso…may asthma…”
She went on…but my ears kind of stopped at ‘buntis’.
Then I stared down at my loose blouse. It ballooned at the front. I had tucked it the wrong way
“No!” I tugged at my blouse.

I guess I shouldn’t take it personally. Nothing personal - so when I got home, I just did 1000 sit-ups…kidding. :) After all, there have been times when I, myself, have assumed others to be pregnant when they were actually not. And I- meant well.

Lets cite an incident: Upon seeing my chemistry professor at an event, I greeted her and noticed her bulging tummy. My eyes sparkled (<-says me).

I immediately concluded ‘She’s finally PREGNANT.’ She once told us that she and her husband have been trying for almost 20 years now. So I was excited for her.

I gasped with a full smile “Wow Ma’am (gawking at her tummy) ---- CONGRATULATIONS!!! Wow!!!”
She looked back at me and didn’t say anything; Clueless.
That’s when I realized she wasn’t pregnant. I’m guessing she got what I was saying.

So to politely save the moment, I continued with “CONGRATULATIONS……Ma’am nakarating kayo!!…wow andito na kayo!!”. (like being there was something to be congratulated about.)

I gave her a cheek-to-cheek and walked away graciously.*wink