A few things not to say or do

For those of you who have kids, the picture to the right might look familiar. This is what I saw every morning for 12 weeks: my beautiful, morning-sick wife struggling to get out of bed. I did thoroughly enjoy getting to serve her when she couldn't, but it also led to some funny (or frustrating) situations. Here are a few anecdotes.

One of the first mornings Kristi was sick, she asked me to bring her something to eat before she got out of bed in hopes of calming some of her nausea. Like a good husband, I ran to the pantry to gather a selection of delicious options for her to choose from. I showed her the Cheerios (what else?), Famous Amos Chocolate cookies (no!), Wheat Thins (that just doesn't sound good...), and, last but most delicious, seasoned croutons (gagging mixed with some noises and gestures to get the croutons out of her sight). In my defense, I thought they were crackers, but I guess garlic and other seasonings don't sound too good to a pregnant woman.

Another morning, Kristi was getting ready to leave for the morning and she was getting something out of the refrigerator to eat for lunch. As I walked by I noticed that she was simultaneously slamming the door shut and gagging at the same time. Without a moment's pause, I started imitating (the highest form of flattery, right?) her gagging hoping to make her laugh. I think I just made her mad.

For one last story, Kristi and I needed to be somewhere relatively early one morning - I think it was a doctor's appointment. So, I got up and ready in plenty of time so as not to make her late. Kristi wasn't feeling well that morning, but I was getting frustrated because, looking into the future, I could see that there was no way we were going to be on time. As I was trying to think of something that might make her move a little more quickly, the only thing that came to mind and subsequently out of my mouth was, "You know, you're not really sick, you're just pregnant." That was about as effective as saying "Quit faking it." I guess I could have just said nothing.

So, if being sick every morning wasn't very fun for Kristi, in hindsight, there were some very funny (and educational) moments for me.