Bothersome Stupidity

I guess part of the pregnancy/parenthood journey is self-discovery.  I learn more about myself and our little miracle each day.  As with all things studied, we find some aspects are good and some are not-so-good; some that are permanent and some temporary.  I can only hope that the not-so-good aspects of my pregnancy are the temporary kind.  Make no mistake, I have no illusions that once Nugget is born, everything will go back to normal.  I have seen too much to know that won’t be the way.

That being said, I’ve noticed one of my symptoms of pregnancy is a lower tolerance level for B.S. (Bothersome Stupidity).  Some might even venture to call me a little bitchy sometimes, but I think they’re just being irrational.  How could I be bitchy?

Before I give an example of my lower BS tolerance, let me first give a quick definition/explanation… Halloween Hoedown is one of two annual gatherings of family and friends in Royston, GA, generally consisting of camping, pumpkin carving, cake walks, costume contests, music and dancing, a lot of food, and a little drinking around a massive bonfire.  Halloween Hoedown is clearly meant to entertain families and children.  Whereas the “Adults Only” Hoedown in the Spring is just that – Adults Only, and geared more toward a laid back atmosphere.  That's it in a nutshell.

Back to my example and Halloween Hoedown this past weekend.  This year for Halloween the weather was beautiful!  Sunny, but not too hot during the day, and just cool enough at night to sit by the fire without freezing when you step away.  The family is always enjoyable as are most of the friends – there’s always “that one” in every crowd.  There should have been very little to complain about.  This year there seemed to be a few more vocal participants than in the past.  More complaints that the music was what the “kids” wanted to listen to and not enough music for “old people.”  I don’t really remember seeing old people, but I guess it’s all relative.  Overheard remarks as to “I’ll jam where I want to jam, I don’t care.  I’ll march right down there and start playing.”  Then after the band (invited as guests and not entertainment) started playing, we were told to applaud.  That by itself left a bad taste in my mouth – I just don’t like people telling me what to do (which I think is amplified during pregnancy).  The next morning, when a guitar came out to play while the radio was on some mellow music that everybody could enjoy (Eagles, Tom Petty, etc) I had to really fight the urge to stare directly at the guitar player while walking to the stereo and cranking up the volume.  That may have been borderline bitchy, but I could still hear the complaints and comments from the night before.  I’m proud to say that I kept my mouth (mostly) shut, at least to the people in question.   

So, I’m taking the good with the bad.  I’m taking the lower tolerance and trying to use it to become a bit more patient with stupid people.  Maybe my next lesson will be the use of subtlety and tact.  Although, I fear I may never actually master that one.  Wish me luck!