How are you feeling?

In the South when someone asks how you are feeling you are supposed to answer "good" or "fine." You see people don't really want to hear a rundown of your medications and symptoms, they just automatically ask. If you answer anything other than "good" or "fine" you usually get mock concern or the questioner rolls their eyes and then makes a mental note not to ask you the next time. You will find that once you get to a certain age the ability just to answer the expected "good" decreases. This used to annoy me some since old people would never stop talking about whats ails them.

Now that Im pregnant I can completely understand. There is nothing else on my mind except this baby. So what else can I talk about? I dont go out, shop, have wonderful vacations, my time with friends is limited to when I can simultaneously find a sitter for Flip and feel good enough to meet up. But I can talk all day about how good I DONT feel. I have a new found sympathy for old people.

Unfortunately my hormones make that sympathy short lived, since it is my hormones that make me feel so awful all the time anyway. My hormones also make me hate this question. How do I feel? AWFUL! My legs hurt, my back hurts, my boobs, stomache and head hurt. My organs are being shoved up into my rib cage and my bladder is barely in existence between my new baby and my pelvis. Do you really want to know all this?!?! But like a good Southern girl, I must simply respond "fine."

I was responding "better," but I got too many confused or blank looks. I mean its true, Im not puking (or the other) everyday. Oh look, the silver lining...