This is my favorite story. Background: Both my daughters are from China, and look nothing like each other, let alone me.
Several years ago I went to meet the teacher night at the high school (no students allowed). The young Spanish teacher greeted me at the door with “please don’t tell me your name, I like to guess what kids belong with which parents.”
To myself: This is going to be good.
Long story short, she didn’t put my very Chinese-looking daughter together with me. I let it go on for a bit because she insisted. I laughed it off, although she seemed pretty mortified. If anything, I hope she didn’t play that “game” again since there are all types of families.
I still laugh when I think about it, though. I wasn’t offended, and didn’t take it personally or seriously.
Years ago I was at Macy’s to buy a pair of shoes. I found a pair I liked and asked the salesgirl if they came in a size 5 1/2. She went in back to see. When she came back, she was empty-handed, but told me they had the shoes in a size 7, 8, 9 1/2 and 10.
I used to work as a purser on a cruise ship (way back in the dark ages!) and we could always count on at least one passenger to ask “What time is the midnight buffet?” or to look at the sign that said “Tonight’s Movie” with the movie title underneath and ask “Is that tonight’s movie?”. One guy pointed to the elevator bank and asked me if these elevators go up or down.
My husband loves to tell people the first thing I said to him when we met in graduate school. When he told me his name, I said, “John Doe? I knew another John Doe - he was a real jerk.” What the heck was I thinking?? We’re celebrating our 40th Valentine’s Day together today, so I guess I didn’t blow it too badly.
Get my wife, two daughters, and bonus daughter a card every year. Although all the daughters were probably more happy with the $50 Target gift card. No one is local at the moment so gift cards will have to do. Wife got 3 Lego Mini-figure Muppets. She loves the Muppets.
Another fellow '21 parent to DH: “i’ll never understand why people spend $80k a year on a private college when in state is cheaper. It’s like buying a brand new fancy car which no one really needs and is frivolous…doesn’t (paying for Duke) feel like throwing money away?”
DH: “No. it doesnt, but I can see that perspective”
DH and said parent were in the parking lot of a fancyish-car lot, DH waiting for his 9yr-old 100k+mile fancyish car to be ready after repairs, suddenly wondering what that parent was doing… so he asks them and they say:
“Oh we are buying our D a brand new ($80k range)car, we just got one ourselves last year and the new model is amazing”.
I was at the gym several years back wearing a Brown sweatshirt. An older man who I had spoken to only casually a few times previously walked over and said; “Brown, back in my day that school had nothing but LGBQ (he used another term) and communists. Does your kid go there”.
I immediately said “well my kid does go there and isn’t a communist but he is gay”, and then paused and let the silence get awkward. He then said “sorry your kid doesn’t look gay”.
Best part is my son is heterosexual but I enjoyed dispelling this individual’s belief that he could spot gay people.
I once offered to bring the champagne for mimosas for a get-together of the moms in my playgroup. Another mom said she’d better bring the champagne because cheap champagne always gave her a headache. Ouch!
Later she apologized to me and I told her that’s okay because it gave me a great story to tell my friends. Touche!
Well… here’s one I said to DH - I got valentines day cards for our s’s/ DILs and grandkids (even younger s’s MIL) and 2 of the grands birthday cards as then have Feb. birthdays. TBH, I am not sure they check their mail, so DK if any of them got/opened them. I was having DH sign them all with me and he saw that I had a card for him as well. He insisted that I had called a moratorium on cards. I truly had no memory of this, but I reassured him not to worry as it wasn’t necessary, and that I’d gotten them at the dollar store! Oops
But in fairness, why spend $5 (give or take) on a piece of paper?
@MaineLonghorn we are at 40 years too. I guess it worked.
oh-- eta; DH brings donuts into the office every Weds. Has done it for years (obviously not during covid). I asked him why he never brought one home for me. Blank stare. Said he buys them and then goes straight to the office. Sorry, not good enough. Well, this morning he brought in donuts after going to the trainer. He put them out in a pretty display and told me I had lost too much weight. Thats not really a funny thing to say, but I’ll take it.
A friend had twins. One was very fair and one very dark. Strangers would often come up to her and them and ask if they had different fathers. She was very irked at their nerve!
DD really had very little hair as an infant/toddler. We dressed her in a lot of ruffles and pink and mostly dresses. I even stuck bows on her head. I can’t tell you how many people asked me “what is this little boy’s name?” I mean, we are pretty liberal, but come on!!
My oldest was the same, white blonde hair, didn’t matter what she was wearing. I had this issue with most of my kids, including one of my twins (a girl). However, her twin boy had brown bouncy curls, so I’d do his hair in pretty clips and dress him in his sister’s clothes and take them for walks. Poor kid, youngest of 5, 3 sisters, we have a lot of photos of him playing dress up.
As an older mom, I was occasionally asked if I was my son’s grandmother. To one particularly rude questioner, I had the presence of mind to snap back, “Great-grandma. I had his pappy when I was just 11!”
When I was 5, my mom took my sister and I to a beauty school to get our hair cut. She paid attention to my sister, and left me unattended. The guy gave me a buzz cut. It was all < 1" long! Everyone thought I was a boy for a couple of years. I cried and cried, and still may be traumatized from that incident. I let it grow until 6th grade and I’ll never have short hair again by choice.
Once was the time when we were taking son, then age 7, to DisneyWorld. “Tell me Marilyn,” she says, “What will son do at DisneyWorld?” All I could think was, um, have fun? Turns out her entire concept was the international buildings of Epcot, although imo plenty there for kids.
Another time she asked, “Tell me, Marilyn, why would you want to go to the Gulf Coast of Florida?” Seems like the Miami Beach side of the state was all that counted.
Then there was the time she announced, “Marilyn doesn’t like fruit.” Although I had eaten plenty of fruit in front of her. But apparently not the peaches ripening on the kitchen windowsill.
And finally there was the time we all were being seated in a restaurant and she announced, “Normally I wouldn’t sit here in a million years.” We all immediately stood up to wait for another table. Husband and I still use that line when shown to a bad table.
