Hey, where's your Mum?

Do I look like I need my hand held?

Sometimes just going out for a lunchtime walk is a lesson in funny. I really am learning day by day to look at the funny side of life. Actually, there are a lot of amusing things that happen every day - I guess it just depends on your point of view.

Last week I headed out at lunchtime for my normal daily walk. I like getting out of the office at lunchtime. It really clears my head and gives me a second wind for the big push to knock off time. Anyway, the weather was pretty nasty. There was a good, strong head wind...and I'm a lightweight so I was almost being blown over. Literally.

I noticed a local resident walking along as well. She was distracted and so I passed her on the footpath. I got about five metres in front of her when I heard her call out,

"Hey! Little guy! Where's your Mum?!"

She then proceeded to come a little closer to me and held out her hand as though she was going to take mine and lead me back to a safe place.

I was terribly amused. I turned and looked at her and it was at that point the woman realised her mistake. She was wrong on two levels.

1. I am not a guy. Yes my hair may be uber short but short hair does not maketh the man and I am most definitely a woman.
2. I am old enough to walk the streets without my mother, thank you very much.

She apologised profusely, but seeing the amused look on my face caused her to see the funny side of her mistake too. Luckily she became distracted by someone else at that moment and went on her merry way. Shame, because the response I really wanted to give her was:

"Umm.....I'm not too sure where my Mum is at the moment. Somewhere on the Nullabor I think!"

This is not an isolated incident. I've had times where I've answered a knock at the front door and when I've answered it the salesperson has said, "Hello there! Is your Mum home?" to which I have replied, "Yes, I think she's home....but she doesn't actually live here." I've chosen to see the positive side of this. Maybe I look younger than I really am! At my age this is a BONUS! 

I think the best story I have ever heard about a short statured person being mistaken for a child is the story about my late father-in-law, George.

*Whilst shopping at a Newsagent for a packet of envelopes, my father-in-law George (also a person of short stature) was standing at the counter waiting to be served. Standing alongside of him was a mother with a very unruly child who was screaming for an item his mother wasn't prepared to buy for him. In her frustration, the mother reached down thinking she was grabbing her sons hand and dragged him out of the store. Unfortunately she had grabbed George's hand by mistake and started trying to run with him. 

Her anger turned to mortified embarrassment when she heard an adult voice exclaim, "Steady on! I've often tried to pick a woman up but this is the first time a woman has picked me up!"*

Luckily George had a sense of humour too!

*story used with permission*