So there I was waiting in the check-out line at the local “dollar store”… one pair of green pom poms in hand. (I realize how odd it is that a grown woman is buying a set of pom poms at the dollar store… unfortunately, the reason for the pom poms is not nearly as interesting as it could be.)

Anyway… I’m in line, trying not to make eye contact with anyone (as you know, I like to avoid it in stores). So I pretend to be interested in the shelves of crap around me. Family pack of toothbrushes… 6-pack of gum I’ve never heard of (wonder if it’s lo meiny)… early pregnancy test… batteries… early pregnancy test… Spiderman pencils… early pregnancy test… early pregnancy test… EARLY PREGNANCY TEST?

OK, this has to be some sort of mistake… maybe it’s one of those things that is in the dollar store, but is actually more than a dollar. Without drawing too much attention to myself, I peer a little closer… nope, a dollar! At this point, I feel someone’s stare… it’s my turn! The check-out girl is staring at me impatiently, and now everyone in line knows I’m ogling the early pregnancy tests… AND buying pom poms! I feel my face turn red as I step forward to pay. I couldn’t get out of that place fast enough.

On my way home (after I got over myself), I started to think about the $1 early pregnancy test. I really have a lot of questions about it. Have they expired? Are the directions in Dutch?  “Plas op deze stok.”  (LOL, thank you, google translater.)  Who would trust ANY medical test that costs $1? How accurate can $1′s worth of technology actually be? Are these geared for ladies who need to buy in bulk? Are these people buying their condoms at the dollar store, too? I couldn’t wrap my mind around it.

Then it hit me:
If you can’t afford a pregnancy test… how the heck are you going to afford the baby?