On Sunday, I was late as usual so Brien and I had to sit in the overflow way in the back for Sacrament meeting.
There was a young family sitting just down the row from us and they had this really cute little girl, about 18 mos. Who kept running over to me, lifting up her arms, and trying to crawl into my lap. Brien was infinitely entertained by the fact that the baby kept wanting me instead of her own mother, and since the little girls parents didn’t seem to object, I picked her up and let her play with necklace and watch and pull my hair and unbutton my sweater (had a white t-shirt on underneath, so no embarrassment worries). She’d sit in my lap for a little bit, then jump down and run to her mother, then climb back in my lap, and so it went for the whole of the meeting.
When the closing prayer was over, her mother came over, who looked to be about my age and she had 4 older children one of whom is only a year younger than Brien, I told her that I was flattered that her daughter seemed to like me so much.
And here is what she said to me:
“Well, you do look like a grandmother!” Not “her grandmother” “A grandmother.”
OH YES SHE DID.
OH YES SHE DID.
I just sat there, stunned, trying not to feel offended, reminding myself that I’m not in fact getting any younger and that being a grandmother is one of life’s greatest blessings. Grandmothers are loving, they’re wise, they’re treasured - they’re the apples of their grandbabies’ eyes.
However, grandmothers are not, as a general rule, 40. In fact most Hollywood celebrities are getting pregnant at 40!!
So in my head I tried to put a spin on what she said, tried to remember that I didn’t exactly leave the house with a youthful glow that morning, tried to justify that maybe she meant “her” grandmother and that she and I have a similar body type, or maybe the grandmother and I have a similar-sounding voice, similar hair color….
But at the same time, I couldn’t help but channel a little bit of Suzanne Sugarbaker and think, “Well, if I’d wanted to be insulted, I’d have stayed at home and waited for a crank call!”
And please don’t misunderstand. I have high hopes of being a Sassy Grandma, just like my own Sassy Grandmas. But I’ve sort of envisioned my 50’s / 60’s as being the Sassy Grandma years. Not, you know, NOW.
I mean, y’all (remember that’s North Carolinian for you all). I can’t help but feel like I may need a touch of the Botox. I exfoliate, moisturize and hydrate, what else is a girl to do short of cosmetic surgery!!
Perhaps the plastic surgeon will give me some form of senior citizens’ discount!
And just FYI: I’m considering changing the name of the blog to Wild Berry Grandma.
Consider yourself warned.
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5 comments:
As some people in this fair state would say, "Holy Crow!" (It seemed appropriate, what with crow's feet and all....)
I cannot believe anyone would say that to you. What the heck. I agree, I eagerly look forward to grandmother hood, especially since I only got to have 2 children. I expect them to reproduce at the earliest appropriate time.
But what the heck was that woman thinking? She's weird, that's all I can say.
Now that is what I call and "Elizabeth Bennet" moment! I can tell that lady is a freakshow without even looking at her... Also I think she must be jealous knowing that you have less than 5 years of kids still at home and she was crazy enough to have kids 16 YEARS apart and will still be mothering WHILE she is grandmothering and has another 17 years of that little cutie being at home... There are people like me who dread their children leaving home and there are people like HER. She obviously wishes she were you.
Sorry, the matthew comment above is from me.
I am completely speechless. People can be so downright stupid. I bet she really thought she was complimenting you, amazing. That is right up there with asking a women who is not pregnant if she is. I really wish people were smarter. I hope you get a chance to give it back to her being she is clearly not a very together mother letting her child run all over the chapel.
Honestly, who says that?! Sounds like someone who is mentally irregular. You really do not look like a grandma...especially out East! Just chalk that up as one of those things NOT to say to someone else (like you would anyway). I just think that little girl was drawn to your calm and loving personality.
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