Saturday, November 04, 2006

Expectant Mothers Parking

We went to Zellers today, hoping to buy a new skillet.

We have been married long enough that some of our wedding presents are starting to wear out. Some kind soul gave us a Black & Decker electric skillet as a gift, and it has served us very well for 6 years. Unfortunately, it now needs to be replaced. We were headed to a nearby store anyway, so we ducked into Zellers to browse the merchandise.

As I pulled into the parking lot, I noticed an empty parking spot that said "Parking for Expectant Mothers and Mothers With Small Children". For the last few weeks I have been wondering about these parking spots. When will it be appropriate for us to begin using them?

Perhaps you have to be obviously pregnant to be eligible. One sign I saw somewhere has a picture of an enormously pregnant woman on it, so you get the impression that is the type of expectant mother they had in mind. Someone who is only 3 months along is not under the same kind of burden. But techically, they are both "expectant mothers" and entitled to the parking spot.

Does it matter if you are alone? If I am driving the car, I can assist my expectant wife with her parcels and packages, so she may not NEED the spot as badly as another, unescorted expectant mother. Would it look weird for an able-bodied man to emerge from a car parked in one of these spots?

A few months from now, when R is more obviously pregnant, I think I'm going to make use of these parking spots. If nothing else, it cuts down on the distance R will have to walk on her aching feet (I know they are going to ache, because she has impossibly high arches that ache already). That would make shopping a real pleasure.

Shopping at Zellers today was good enough that I didn't mind parking in a normal spot. Although we didn't find the skillet, they had this sweet 2-for-1 deal on pillows. Not only that, they had something like 20 cashiers working the tills, and there were no lines at all. I can't even imagine what a complete nightmare it would have been to go to Walmart on a Saturday afternoon. Actually, I've done it. And each time I swear to myself that I'm not going back to Walmart, pregnant parking or not. What a total zoo, that place.

I never thought I'd say this, but I think I'm a Zellers man now.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hey! This has nothing to do with pregnant parking, but I wanted to say happy birthday! I tried calling you tonight and got nothing but busy signals. I guess I gotta get in line to wish a popular guy like you a happy birthday, D. Sounds like you had a great day -- I mean, what tops a satisfying Zellers shopping experience?

I'm glad they have parking spots for mothers with small children. I need those much more than when I'm expecting.

Kage said...

I say use the parking NOw...b/c it's a shorter distance for R to run (to reach the trash receptacle) in case she has some unexpected puke.