S/O: What have YOU said that's made you want to hide?

[*********]

I'm sure we've all been the person to say the careless thing. Might be freeing to admit our faults...

 

I'll go first. :D

 

My sister's fiance's mother passed away. The first thing I said to him when I saw him at the funeral home was 'How are you?'. I mean, come on, what a thoughtless question. I guess it's just what we ask people when we see them, but good grief. He was standing right in front of his mother's casket. How do you THINK he is, Bethany?! As soon as I said it, I could have crawled under a chair. He, however, was very gracious about it.

 

When I was as teenager, I had a friend who had retinitis pigmentosa. It's where your vision closes in on you like tunnel vision, and your visual field gets smaller and smaller until you eventually go blind. He still had vision, but his periferal (sp?) vision was gone. I knew all about his condition.

 

I don't remember what the situation was, but I remember he didn't see something, and I said, 'What's the matter, are you BLIND?'. Oh good grief, did I feel like the biggest heel in the world. He just looked at me and flatly said 'Well, yeah, kinda'.

 

So, share your stories, and help me feel better. :)

[eternalknot]

My foot is perpetually in my mouth. I suffer from "speak first, think later" syndrome!

 

Suffice it to say, I can't recall a specific incident but I know there have been plenty. Sorry I can't share something to make you feel better, but know you're no Lone Ranger!

 

Looking forward to reading more :)

[Xuzi]

"What is it about this family and late bloomers? You're all so short!"

 

Said in front of a cute (but moderately short) guy I'd just met (this was HS) and the girl he'd just introduced to me as his sister, who was just barely 4' tall and 18 years old. His parents walked up immediately after I said this.

 

They were little people.

 

I wanted a sinkhole to open up benieth me SO bad.

[BikeBookBread]

My foot is perpetually in my mouth. I suffer from "speak first, think later" syndrome!

 

Me too. I can think of two conversations this week: both relating to phonics and teachers. :blush: Now I wish I hadn't said anything to either of them.

[Garga]

When I was engaged to my dh, my in-laws offered to pay for our bed for us, and they also bought sheets. I said, "Gee, you guys must really want grandkids!" They just stared at me, unsmiling.

 

I felt really tacky.

 

When I volunteered at a Christian mission in a bad part of the city, a homeless man came in and asked for "prayer for a friend." I proceeded to pray for a long time that this man would find someone to be a friend to him. When I was done, he just smiled woodenly and left.

 

It wasn't until the next day that I realized the man wanted me to pray for a friend he already had, who needed prayer.

 

Those are the things I can think of off the top of my head that left me feeling very foolish.

[mo2]

After moving into a new rental house: "What idiot put carpet in the bathroom?" Um, it turned out to be my sil's husband.

Edited September 14, 2010 by mo2
It was a rental house, not a renal house.

[FeFe]

When I was in high school me and my friends, John and Mike were standing in John's driveway just hanging out. The special ed bus had just turned onto his road. Being the brat that I was, I said, "Look John! Here comes your bus!" At that moment the bus stopped right in front of the driveway and his little brother walked off. There was an awkward silence. I'll never forget that moment and I learned a very big lesson that day.

[Annie G]

Years ago we were invited to a new friend's house for dinner. I knew we were having pizza and while making small talk before the meal, I mentioned how weird I thought it was that in schools they always serve corn with pizza. Who does that? Um, our new friends. It was on the stove, but I evidently didn't notice it- my vision was blocked by my foot being shoved in my mouth.

I still think it's weird.

[Tree House Academy]

When I was 19 and pregnant, I asked a 50-something cashier at Walmart when her baby was due. I bet you can guess she wasn't pregnant. I learned a big lesson from that...and now, I don't care if someone is so pregnant it is completely obvious, I NEVER ask!

[Rich with Kids]

We went to a Civil War Re-enactment and there were soldiers walking around answering questions. I asked, "Do you ever use real bullets?" :001_huh:

 

Not sure what I was thinking...

[Robin's Song]

I met a woman at a new church we were attending and she introduced me to her children. They were ages 17, 16, and 7. I said "Wow, that's a big age difference". She just smiled. I later found out she had two stillborn babies in between. She ended up being a dear friend, but I still despise myself when I think about it.

 

When meeting our new pastor (at a different church), I made a comment about how we had seen a picture of the church members playing with lambs and we had wondered what they were doing with them. In context we were discussing some of the crazy churches we have had experiences with and how we are very careful about researching the church before bringing our children for a visit. It came out sounding like I was talking about...something so nasty I don't even want to type it. It was so awkward but we both recovered pretty quickily. OH MY.

 

Recently I was talking to an acquaintance who mentioned two sets of triplets in a row after numerous singletons. I asked if multiples ran in her family and she told me that they did not. I laughed and said perhaps she needed to get off city water. It was a reference to concerns about the effects of medicines in our water supply, but of course it sounded like I meant she should stop having children (or not have had the ones she does have). I immediately said "I am so sorry, what an awful thing to say. I'll bet you hear that all the time." She was gracious.

 

 

I very rarely get offended when I get comments like "Don't you know what causes that?" or "She's been busy". I've put my foot in my mouth so many times :tongue_smilie:. I rarely make the same blunder twice, but that doesn't stop me from coming up with new ways to humiliate myself.

[Robin's Song]

"What is it about this family and late bloomers? You're all so short!"

 

Said in front of a cute (but moderately short) guy I'd just met (this was HS) and the girl he'd just introduced to me as his sister, who was just barely 4' tall and 18 years old. His parents walked up immediately after I said this.

 

They were little people.

 

I wanted a sinkhole to open up benieth me SO bad.

 

OH MY!!!!!

 

When I volunteered at a Christian mission in a bad part of the city, a homeless man came in and asked for "prayer for a friend." I proceeded to pray for a long time that this man would find someone to be a friend to him. When I was done, he just smiled woodenly and left.

 

It wasn't until the next day that I realized the man wanted me to pray for a friend he already had, who needed prayer.

 

Those are the things I can think of off the top of my head that left me feeling very foolish.

 

This is HILARIOUS!!!!

 

 

When I was in high school me and my friends, John and Mike were standing in John's driveway just hanging out. The special ed bus had just turned onto his road. Being the brat that I was, I said, "Look John! Here comes your bus!" At that moment the bus stopped right in front of the driveway and his little brother walked off. There was an awkward silence. I'll never forget that moment and I learned a very big lesson that day.

 

Years ago we were invited to a new friend's house for dinner. I knew we were having pizza and while making small talk before the meal, I mentioned how weird I thought it was that in schools they always serve corn with pizza. Who does that? Um, our new friends. It was on the stove, but I evidently didn't notice it- my vision was blocked by my foot being shoved in my mouth.

I still think it's weird.

 

Absolutely mortifying!

[Daisy]

If I told you, I'd want to hide. ;)

[lionfamily1999]

My best friend and I both dated guys in the same band in hs. We went over to my bf's house to hang out while they practiced and I saw a little black boy running around the yard. My friend and I chatted him up for a bit and I asked him if he shouldn't be getting home (street lights coming on). He gave me a funny look and walked right into their house :001_huh:. So, I went and got my bf and told him some kid had just gone into his house...

 

He said, "He's my brother."

 

I said, "Oh, I didn't know your parents adopted another son."

 

He said, "They didn't."

 

Now, I'm dense. I could not wrap my head around how two white people had managed to give birth to a non-white child. So I said, joking, "He got your mother's hair."

 

He informed me it was their NA heritage that caused his brother to be so dark...............................................................................

 

I found out the truth later, but geez I was relentless in the persuit of stupidity that time.

 

There are more stories, but this is the one that makes me want to hunker under a rock.

[GWOB]

I had just arrived at my new duty station. Another higher-ranking Sailor was showing me around, teaching me were to go. As we were walking through the parking lot, we came upon a very tricked-out car. It was a huge Lincoln Town Car with this light-green paint flecked with gold glitter. It has some serious gold rims, gold accents, the whole nine yards. I went on and on about how awful this car was and what were the owners thinking. Yep. It was her car. I wanted to melt into the floor.

 

Another time, at the same duty station, I was working with an older man. We constantly teased each other in a joking kind of way. I had just returned from 2 weeks leave when I noticed him walking on crutches. I said "See. That's why old people shouldn't play sports." It would have been funny, except he had just had a cancerous growth removed from his leg.

 

There are so many more times I just cannot even begin to count. I often suffer from diarreha (sp) of the mouth.

[Denisemomof4]

When I volunteered at a Christian mission in a bad part of the city, a homeless man came in and asked for "prayer for a friend." I proceeded to pray for a long time that this man would find someone to be a friend to him. When I was done, he just smiled woodenly and left.

 

It wasn't until the next day that I realized the man wanted me to pray for a friend he already had, who needed prayer.

 

 

 

HAHAHAHAHA!!!:lol::lol::lol:

[ChrisN in NY]

"So what is it that you do all day?"

 

Yep, I really said that... to a homeschooling mother. Thankfully it was someone I knew, not someone I'd recently been introduced to!!

 

She was telling me how her oldest was using BJU's HomeSat, and that he was totally on his own with it. She bought him a bunch of DVD's and given him all the books so he could correct and grade his own work, cause she just didn't have time.

 

At the time, I was homeschooling five kiddos (but I'd had 7 the year before) in grades 1 to 11. In contrast, she had two others at home who were late elementary and junior high, no learning difficulties or other untypical challenges.

 

It just came out of my mouth before I could stop it.

 

She answered that she ate bon-bons and watched soap operas. I apologized and explained my perspective, and she was very gracious.

 

I do have three left at home now and feel like I have tons of time -- it's all relative.

 

:D

[*********]

If I told you, I'd want to hide. ;)

 

Oh come one Daisy, you can tell us. :001_smile:

[elegantlion]

I was about 19 when I opened my whole mouth and blurted out my ignorance. I was talking to my boss and made what I thought was a slang statement. I'd heard it a thousand times from other people in my family. Turns out it was a slur against a particular race of people, of which my boss was of that race. He kind of glared at me for a moment, shook his head, and then walked off.

 

I didn't realize until much later that it was indeed a slur. Yes, I was young and stupid. I had already left that job by the time it dawned on me. I truly wanted to vomit when I realized what I'd said. I've always wanted to look him up and apologize for my ignorance.

 

It really taught me to watch what phrases I use.

[lionfamily1999]

I was about 19 when I opened my whole mouth and blurted out my ignorance. I was talking to my boss and made what I thought was a slang statement. I'd heard it a thousand times from other people in my family. Turns out it was a slur against a particular race of people, of which my boss was of that race. He kind of glared at me for a moment, shook his head, and then walked off.

 

I didn't realize until much later that it was indeed a slur. Yes, I was young and stupid. I had already left that job by the time it dawned on me. I truly wanted to vomit when I realized what I'd said. I've always wanted to look him up and apologize for my ignorance.

 

It really taught me to watch what phrases I use.

I offered to n***** rig a neighbor's muffler once. I had no idea, even saying it, what it actually said, iykwIm. I could've died when they were kind enough to tell me off, realize how ignorant I was, and then explain it to me. I was 12ish at the time.

[Chris in VA]

I was at my mom and dad's 50th wedding anniversary party. There were chocolate lollipops with big "50 Years" written on them. I said oh, we forgot to eat them, and I said to my brother and sister-in-law, We can just save them for OUR 50th Anniversaries.

My brother is a lung transplant recipient, has cystic fibrosis, and will probably be lucky if he reaches his 25th anniversary.