When Words Collide

You never know when total strangers are going to pass judgment on you, but based on personal experience, when it happens, it's never complimentary. Take the time, a zillion years ago, when the SJG (Exhausted Young Motherhood Edition) popped into a tiny market on the corner to buy a big gallon of milk for my sons (Exhausting Young Boyhood Edition). It was a hot summer day. As the man behind the counter, a foreigner, rang up the purchase, he looked at me and smiled. "You must be very fat today." I was taken aback. Many responses ran through my keppy: "How dare you!" "It's baby weight." "@#$% you!" Instead, I said, "What?!" "You must be very FAT today," he repeated. Well, it sounded even worse the second time. "Yeah, okay, uh, thanks," I said. Turning to leave, it hit me. Maybe he'd meant something else! I looked back at him. "Do you mean thirsty?" He smiled and nodded. "Yes," he said, "you must be very thirsty." "Yes," I said, relieved not to be fat shamed. "I'm very, very thirsty."