"Hi Grandma"

The Olympic theme is playing in the background as I sit down to tell you my sad tale. That has absolutely nothing to do with what I'm about to say, but I thought it might set the scene. Maybe not.

I don't mind telling you that I'm in my mid...late...50's. Oh heck, I just turned 57 a couple of weeks ago. As such, I have the usual "character lines" on my face (okay, wrinkles!) and my hair began sporting "silver highlights" back when I was in my thirties. But all in all, I'm in decent shape and not doing too badly, although from this description you're not likely to believe me.

Anyway, Saturday evening, I went to the store to look for some shower curtain hooks. I don't really like paying a lot for items that I barely notice once they're in place, so I thought I'd head over to Ross to see if they just might have what I needed at dirt-cheap prices.

I made my way to the bed/bath section and noticed a small selection of hooks on the very bottom shelf. So, I knelt down and began looking through the various styles. I was vaguely aware of a shopping cart next to me with a small child in it and a women standing next to it. But I was intent on my shopping and didn't pay too much attention to their conversation.

At one point, I heard the little boy say "Hi, Grandma" and figured that it must be his grandma standing next to the cart. Then I heard the the woman say to him, "That's not your grandma." Again the little tyke said, "Hi, Grandma." Once again, the woman said, "That's not YOUR grandma." But it was when she said, "I'm sorry," that I realized this was the little guy's mother and she was embarassed because he was talking to... ME!

Don't get me wrong, I'm plenty old enough to be a grandma. And hopefully, one day in the not too distant future, my son and daughter-in-law will bestow that role upon me. But to have a little two-year old pick me out of a crowd...after only seeing the top of my head...and call me "grandma" was nearly too much!

I immediately texted two of my sisters and told them "I'm old!" Both did their best to "text-console" me. My sister, Lisa, texted , "Two-year olds are not noted for their judgement. I wouldn't let it bother you." When I refused to be comforted by that comment, she texted back, "Again, he was two. From his perspective, a four-year old looks old." Easy for her to say. She's 13 years younger than me!

I don't know. I'm sure I'll get over this. Someday. I just never knew that a smiling little two-year old could be so vicious. And somewhere out there, his grandma thinks he's adorable. Okay, he kinda was.