Not one to wallow in happy mediums I often dabble in extremes. And I’m not talking about useful talents or gifts but more mundane things like emotions, sense of smell and nerves. The slightest unexpected noise can have me jumping half a metre off the ground and shrieking like a cat being raped. Actually, it doesn’t even necessarily need to be unexpected: toasters are a frequent source of worry as I get a horrendous shock each time the bread pops up – even if I’m waiting for it! I also have a ridiculously overdeveloped sense of smell which has me fleeing in disgust from certain restaurants and cheese shops or anywhere with a strong odour.
My Occasionally Sober Friend has never understood these issues and always accused me of overreacting – attention grabbing if you will. One nice surprise I had recently however was the news that she is pregnant! As you might gather from her name this is proving quite the challenge and so I find myself glossing over any references to alcohol in the stories I tell her. My weekend tales now involve pretend pints of Ribena for fear she’d have me describe in minute details the taste and sensation of ever sip of wine or beer I have.
More entertaining though is the multitude of changes she is going through. She can rocket from deliriously happy that the supermarket has 10 cents off her favourite bread to miserably weepy that there are three people in the queue before her. She was always quite positive about a good bargain but her reaction now involves anything from dancing, singing and jumping to slouching, crying and sighing – all reactions I empathise fully with. Her sense of smell has also sharpened to a degree that brings her in line with mine. She now spends a good 30% of the time moaning about the smells around her. Making the list even longer she seems to have developed my jumpyitis and frequently gets frightened by honking cars or loud supermarket announcements.
I love how your pregnancy has helped you understand me better I informed her (yes it is all about me). She pondered this for a few moments before adequately clarifying the situation. Basically this just means that you always act like a pregnant woman – you must be ever so proud!





