The other day at the library, a woman came up to me and asked if she knew me from somewhere. She looked familiar, so I said yes, but wasn’t sure where. Her response?
“Oh, I remember now! You were the one with the kid who was a slow walker at the gym last fall!”
I was only able to sit there with a fairly confused look on my face. She then continued to make odd and mildly insulting comments through the small but limping conversation we had. I had a lot of instant comebacks, ranging from “Oh, and you were the one who couldn’t keep her ridiculous comments to yourself!” to “Oh, you are the one whose boobs are constantly hanging out of your shirt!” (Hers were, and not in an attractive Sofia Vergara way. That was the inner 5 year old in me talking, I think we all have that little whiny, snotty voice that comes out at times when we are offended. For most of us, though, it is an INTERNAL voice. I digress…)
I then shook off my own snarky thoughts and just felt sorry for her. Too bad she couldn’t remember how my son shared well with hers, or how my son has the most hilarious, infectious laughter. If all she could remember was my son’s progress on some random internal timeline she created, I had to feel sorry for her. That’s not the way I want to live my life, and I feel bad if it is the way she lives hers.
I have learned through the years, and most often as a parent, that many people make snarky comments because they are themselves unhappy. Unhappy with life, unhappy with their successes, their failures, unhappy with THEM, not you!
Moral of the story is: Be happy with YOU and feel sorry for those who can’t be happy with themselves. Confidence is THE best accessory!
