Sometimes life be crazy, but sometimes life just be MEAN!
I stopped in at my bestie's new office this afternoon to surprise her, and I got the surprise. When I asked if she was there, they said she had worked a short day and was already gone. Then one of the gals at the counter asked, "Are you her mom?"
"What the frankin' frank?! Do I look old enough to be her mother?!" ran through my head immediately -- thank God it didn't come blurting out of my mouth as well -- and I covered my shock (at least I hope so) with a laugh and a "No, I'm her bestie." Then I got the hell out of there. I even called Bestie and made a joke of it. But it so wasn't funny.
I felt like I'd taken a bullet to the gut. I sat in the car for a while and fought back tears. All I could think of was: how old do I really look to people? I wanted to crawl under a rock until I died and became worm food.
In all fairness, my bestie is still in her thirties but appears much younger. And her mama is a lovely, very youthful looking woman. I shouldn't take offense at the comment, but dammit, I do. I mean, I moisturize religiously. I stay hydrated. I keep my roots freshened up. I put on eye shadow to give my eyes some sparkle and wear gloss to keep my lips plump and lush. I wear bling and funky clothes. I don't even own a pair of stretch pants or squishy-soled granny shoes. But I guess it doesn't matter. The jig, that I am old, is up.
I am baffled by how to continue from here. Should I give up completely, quit working out and trying to eat healthy, save cash and stop coloring my hair, forget the funky outfits and go for comfy clothes all the way, and let mother nature have her way with me since people see me as old anyway? Should I take down the "SEXY" pendant from my rearview mirror and hang a "SAGGY" instead? Or is this a fight I should keep on fighting, doing whatever it takes to make me feel good about myself despite how other folks see me?
This aging business is HARD and UGLY and MEAN! And I'm barely over the 50 mark. How much worse it's going to get, I don't want to know.
If anyone is reading, I would love to hear your thoughts on this. And if you've had a similar situation, how did it make you feel? What did you do with those feelings?
Even in my bafflement with this slap in the face (figurative, but it felt quite literal), I can tell you one thing: I won't be making any more surprise visits to Bestie's office! And if I do see that mom-comment co-worker of hers again, I may just get all sassy old-gal on her and tell her to "Kiss my saggy ass! I'm the bestie, not the mama!"
I stopped in at my bestie's new office this afternoon to surprise her, and I got the surprise. When I asked if she was there, they said she had worked a short day and was already gone. Then one of the gals at the counter asked, "Are you her mom?"
"What the frankin' frank?! Do I look old enough to be her mother?!" ran through my head immediately -- thank God it didn't come blurting out of my mouth as well -- and I covered my shock (at least I hope so) with a laugh and a "No, I'm her bestie." Then I got the hell out of there. I even called Bestie and made a joke of it. But it so wasn't funny.
I felt like I'd taken a bullet to the gut. I sat in the car for a while and fought back tears. All I could think of was: how old do I really look to people? I wanted to crawl under a rock until I died and became worm food.
In all fairness, my bestie is still in her thirties but appears much younger. And her mama is a lovely, very youthful looking woman. I shouldn't take offense at the comment, but dammit, I do. I mean, I moisturize religiously. I stay hydrated. I keep my roots freshened up. I put on eye shadow to give my eyes some sparkle and wear gloss to keep my lips plump and lush. I wear bling and funky clothes. I don't even own a pair of stretch pants or squishy-soled granny shoes. But I guess it doesn't matter. The jig, that I am old, is up.
I am baffled by how to continue from here. Should I give up completely, quit working out and trying to eat healthy, save cash and stop coloring my hair, forget the funky outfits and go for comfy clothes all the way, and let mother nature have her way with me since people see me as old anyway? Should I take down the "SEXY" pendant from my rearview mirror and hang a "SAGGY" instead? Or is this a fight I should keep on fighting, doing whatever it takes to make me feel good about myself despite how other folks see me?
This aging business is HARD and UGLY and MEAN! And I'm barely over the 50 mark. How much worse it's going to get, I don't want to know.
If anyone is reading, I would love to hear your thoughts on this. And if you've had a similar situation, how did it make you feel? What did you do with those feelings?
Even in my bafflement with this slap in the face (figurative, but it felt quite literal), I can tell you one thing: I won't be making any more surprise visits to Bestie's office! And if I do see that mom-comment co-worker of hers again, I may just get all sassy old-gal on her and tell her to "Kiss my saggy ass! I'm the bestie, not the mama!"
HOLY FUCK you're over fifty? I seriously would have guessed late thirties at the most.
ReplyDeleteThank you most kindly, Anonymous, for your late thirties comment!! You have made my entire week! And I dig the exclamatory "HOLY FUCK"! Sounds just like something I would say.
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