Things that only happen to Lisa: pilot episode

My time here is slowly coming to an end and although I am a little irritated at the bill this adventure has racked up and the fact it didn’t go anywhere near close to plan (I thought I’d retire in Maine) I am wondering what I will blog about now...On the suggestion of a friend I’ve decided to share what I fondly refer to “things that only happen to Lisa”.

I seem to have this ability to attract people who say and do the weirdest things to me or around me.  During this phenomenon, people feel free to share with me, a perfect stranger, their thoughts and feeling about whatever I am doing at the time, rarely does it ever have anything to do with them. 

For example, when I was pregnant with my son I had a lady in a Walmart blow up at me about how she is sick and tired of pregnant teenagers living off the system, implying of course I was one of “those” woman...to her surprise I politely corrected her.  I was neither a teenager nor was I “living off the system” as my husband at the time made pretty good money, good enough for me to be a stay at home mom. 

She never apologized, just walked away, almost blaming me for not fitting into the stereo-type she had already boxed me into.

Or just last year while I was out Christmas shopping with my mother and I decided to buy something at the jewelry counter.  The lady behind the counter, who knew my mother, asked me if I had my mother’s permission to put my purchase on her credit card. 

I looked at her funny and said, “No I have my own I will be using, thanks”. 

She looked at me hard and then said, “ It was sure nice of your mother to get you a card to her account”. 

I laughed.  I am used to this.  The case of the mistaken age. 

I handed her my card, smiled and said, “My mother is nice but this is my very own card”.  She looked confused. 

Then my 11 year old son walked up to me and said something that started with the words “Mom, can I...” and she just about died.

“Is that your son”, she asked. 
“Yep” I replied
“How old are you”, she pried

I laughed and told her my age.  She looked like I had just kicked her dog.  She tells me she thought I was the ripe old age of 17 (almost that many year off) and that she thought my son was my brother and all this time she thought my mother was only in her 40’s.  I like that we look young but I think I am the only person who gets asked if I have my mother’s permission to use a credit card at my age.

These stories are what make my life uniquely mine.  Sometimes they are just plain funny and sometimes they make me angry.  But I have so many of them. Most to do with mistaken age but I guess I can’t blame them though, I still use the same picture on my driver’s license that was taken when I was 18 and I can’t say I look much different, but mostly it has to do with snap judgements people make about me and then care to share.  So for your enjoyment I too will care to share.