Strange things people say to you in public

[Tangerine]

I doubled down. Had one after a boy and girl, then had another after 2 boys and 2 girls!

Me too! I remember one lady saying "oh, you finally got your girl!" after my 3rd. She had no idea what the other two were. I guess she assumed that was the only explanation for having a third. I'm waiting to find out what our tie breaker will be.

[Audrey]

The most frequest weird thing I get asked in public is "who did your nose?" 

 

If I had a dollar for every time I've been asked that, I'd have a tidy retirement savings by now, I'm sure. :laugh: 

 

FWIW, my standard response is "my parents," which is the truth.  It's all natural.

[bzymom]

Pregnant with my 4th, with 3 boys in tow, I can't tell you how often I was asked if I was "trying for a girl". I was asked by strangers, neighbors, acquaintances.

 

Depending upon my mood I would either answer

 

"Trying for a baby. So far, so good"

or

"Trying for a puppy this time".

 

ðŸ˜

[Amber in SJ]

I have a good one!

 

While manning the punch table at my youngest brother's outdoor wedding reception in sweltering hot Bakersfield, CA, the pastor who had performed the ceremony approached me for a little chit-chat.  We had not met before, the bride's mother was a member of his congregation.  We were not even of the same faith.  He asked me which children were mine.  I pointed out the four of them running around.  He then asked me if I was planning to have more.  

 

I used to get this question frequently because 4 kids seems to be the sweet spot where people will either tell you they think you are crazy for overpopulating the planet, or people will tell you they think "giant" families like yours are great and you should have more.

 

Steeling myself for the usual comments I decided to go with the highly intelligent "I dunno," and add an eloquent shrug.

 

And he said......

 

"You should have more, because you have perfect Aryan children.  Our country needs more children like them for what is coming."

 

I wish I could say I said something intelligent, but I was speechless.  Who says crazy stuff like that?  Who thinks a stranger is going to share his horrifying, racist beliefs just because her children are blond?

 

He went on to ask me to point out my husband.  I couldn't help myself.  I pointed to the only African American man I knew at the reception, who happened to be my brother's best man.  Now it was his turn to be speechless.  He turned and stared at me for a few long moments.  I have very kinky, coily curly hair and he proceeded to tell me that people shouldn't be able to adopt outside their race.  And then he left.

 

My other SIL was standing next to me and she couldn't stop laughing.

 

Good times.

 

Amber in SJ

Edited May 30, 2017 by Amber in SJ

[Audrey]

My oldest son is 6'10"  He literally hasn't been able to go out in public for years without someone asking him how tall he is and if he plays basketball.  People will literally chase him down in the store, as if they were running to catch an airplane, just to ask.   Sometimes, just for the heck of it, I will count how many asks in 1 trip.  He's very gracious about it, but I keep telling him I will give him $5 if he replies with "what is basketball?"  I mean, I get that most people don't see such a tall person very often (though it's not like there aren't plenty of them out there), but it never seems to occur to them that it's not new to him.  My husband says he just makes people lose their filter.   I've seen people in the grocery store slow down and go "OMG!". 

 

It is literally every time he goes in public.  If I'm doing errands I have to account for so many minutes of driving, so many minutes in the store, and so many minutes of listening to strangers extoll on my son's height.  Gets old.

 

 

Ha! Yes, people get weird about tall people. My whole FOO is very tall.  My mother was just a hair shorter than me and I am 6' tall.  My father was 6' 5" and kind of shrunk a bit as he got a lot older, but still when he passed away, they couldn't fit him in a regular coffin.  My brother is the tallest at 6' 10" which he reached about mid-highschool years.  I remember once going out with my family for supper (all of us were adults at the time), and a little boy stared at us as we were walking in to be seated.  After we sat down near his family's table, he darted over (much to his mother's displeasure) and asked us if he could have our autographs.  When his mother swept him away, he said, "they're real, Mommy! The giants are real!"  He sounded so happy!  :D 

[Amber in SJ]

People often jump to conclusions about me because of my hair, and say weird things.

 

Once when I was with my big kids at the bank the security person said, "It's good to see a mixed sister represent!"  My college age kid explained what that meant.

 

A woman I met at a TKD tournament said, "Your husband must be white, because your kids have white people hair and you don't."

 

At Walmart I was buying a paddle brush for my youngest dd who has sensory issues and will only tolerate a certain brush and the cashier said, "I didn't think you could use a brush like that on hair like your people."

 

I complimented a little girl at the movie theater on her curly hair (I try to always do this because I despised my curly hair when I was little)  she told me her hair was curly because her daddy was black and then she asked me if my daddy was black.  I told her he wasn't but he also has curly hair and she looked at me with a squinched up face and said, "Are you sure your daddy ain't black?"

 

Amber in SJ

 

 

 

 

[Audrey]

I have a good one!

 

While manning the punch table at my youngest brother's outdoor wedding reception in sweltering hot Bakersfield, CA, the pastor who had performed the ceremony approached me for a little chit-chat.  We had not met before, the bride's mother was a member of his congregation.  We were not even of the same faith.  He asked me which children were mine.  I pointed out the four of them running around.  He then asked me if I was planning to have more.  

 

I used to get this question frequently because 4 kids seems to be the sweet spot where people will either tell you they think you are crazy for overpopulating the planet, or people will tell you they think "giant" families like yours are great and you should have more.

 

Steeling myself for the usual comments I decided to go with the highly intelligent "I dunno," and add an eloquent shrug.

 

And he said......

 

"You should have more, because you have perfect Aryan children.  Our country needs more children like them for what is coming."

 

I wish I could say I said something intelligent, but I was speechless.  Who says crazy stuff like that?  Who thinks a stranger is going to share his horrifying, racist beliefs just because her children are blond?

 

He went on to ask me to point out my husband.  I couldn't help myself.  I pointed to the only African American man I knew at the reception, who happened to be my brother's best man.  Now it was his turn to be speechless.  He turned and stared at me for a few long moments.  I have very kinky, coily curly hair and he proceeded to tell me that people should be able to adopt outside their race.  And then he left.

 

My other SIL was standing next to me and she couldn't stop laughing.

 

Good times.

 

Amber in SJ

 

 

Shortly after I moved here, an elderly woman I barely knew shared her views on race with me and said, "but you know better than me, I guess, since you're from one of those (racial slur)-filled states."  She said this like we were old racist buddies or something.  I was so appalled, I was speechless, too.  But, I never forgot what she said and I held a very low opinion of her until she died.  Well, even after she died, too.  She was really horrible.

[Seeking Squirrels]

This reminded me of a time in college. My boyfriend and I both had red hair. We were the same age. He was over 6' tall. I'm just 5'2". We were alone at a golf range and he was attempting to teach me the proper way to hit a golf ball. Two men arrive and we overhear one say to the other how nice it was to see a dad teaching his daughter golf. I was torn between being offended and laughing hysterically. We left soon after.

You guys should have shared an appropriate but obviously passionate kiss! They wouldn't have known what to think!

[Amber in SJ]

Pregnancy seems to remove people's filters, too.

 

When I was pregnant with #4 who, was due in Feb., Dh & I went to vote early one November morning.  Our polling place was the super swanky retirement home around the corner.  I am pretty sure the volunteers all lived there.  The elderly Chinese woman checking names asked me when I was due.  When I told her February, she said,  "Really!?!?!?  You so big!"  Out of the corner of my eye I could see dh peeping over the top of the voting booth thing to see if I was going to lose my mind, but I calmly smiled & took my ballot and walked away.  Whereupon she yelled,

 

"You having boy.  You big from this side, too!"

 

It took me a few seconds to compose myself  in the little voting booth.  It didn't help that I could hear dh trying not to laugh in the next booth.  

 

I had another encounter with a different Chinese woman while I was pregnant who told me she knew I was having a girl because girls steal their mother's beauty.  Pretty sure she was calling me ugly.  :)

 

Amber in SJ

[Forget-Me-Not]

Me too! I remember one lady saying "oh, you finally got your girl!" after my 3rd. She had no idea what the other two were. I guess she assumed that was the only explanation for having a third. I'm waiting to find out what our tie breaker will be.

My oldest and youngest are boys and my middle two are girls. Once I was out with just the younger three and someone asked if I kept trying until I got a boy. It took me a second to realize what she meant.

 

When we found out #2 was a girl, the doctor said, "A boy and a girl! Now you can be done." When I replied we might have more (we always planned on 4), she said, "Hmmm. . . we'll see" as if she somehow had a vote on the matter. 🙄

Edited May 30, 2017 by Forget-me-not

[Bluegoat]

I don't know her intent. I **think** it's because they are all blonde and blue-eyed, and two girls and two boys. The littlest one was still gestating. Still! Ick, shudder.

 

That's what I guessed when I read your post.  I can't believe that information was still in my head, but in the story they are all super-blond.  What a creepy set of books.

[TravelingChris]

My son is a pharmacy tech and one day this spring, he had a older man who was with his wife who was complaining about the price of his diabetes medications. My son was calmly explaining options he could discuss with his doctor to lower the price of his medications. All of the sudden, the man blurts out with "What we need is a little bit of ethnic cleansing". My son looked at him and he was serious and his wife had a wide grin.  Everyone else in the line had horrified looks. My son couldn't say anything negative to the man but just quickly finished ringing him up.  He didn't know what kind of ethnic cleansing this man wanted and why he thought it would lower his pharmaceutical prices but being in customer service, he does get truly bizarre people.

[Scarlett]

- When I was getting married to my husband, my MIL said that her sister was a MaryKay expert and was going to do my makeup for the wedding. Since it was such a big deal, I said sure. She lived out of state so I had never met her. So, when I met her the morning of our wedding and she was doing my makeup she said that my husband was such a wonderful guy and that she always wanted her daughter (his cousin) to marry him and was sad it didn't work out that way. I didn't know what to say. It was so odd hearing that she wanted him to marry his cousin the day I was marrying him. (She ended up being super nice but it was WEIRD).

 

- When I was eight months pregnant with my fourth, I had just had a long day of grocery shopping with my other three kids in tow. We were at our last stop and the receipt checker at Sam's loudly exclaimed when I got there "Wow, you look like an elephant!" It really shocked me and hurt my feeling. I started crying right there as I was so tired. I also burst into tears when I got home and my husband asked how it went.

 

 

That is horrible!  People just don't think before they speak!

[Alessandra]

When Youngest was between 1 month and about 4 months old, and Eldest was 18 months older then that, several times I had people asking if they were twins.

 

???

 

One was a baby in arms, the other was walking beside me. (Eldest walked early and well).

I did have twins and, when asked, would say that they were a boy and a girl. Next question was often -- Are they identical?

[Chelli]

I thought I didn't have a story to add, but then I remembered this one...

 

When my dh went to seminary, the night before classes began one of the professors had a meet and greet reception at his home. After making chit chat with various people that were there, I found the other women whose husbands or they themselves were attending the school. We all started talking to each other when one of the wives pulled me aside and said, "We totally have the best looking husbands here!" I was thinking, "What?" Then she points out her husband and says, "That's your husband, right?" I affirmed this was correct. She then proceeds to lay out all of my husband's attractive body parts such as broad shoulders and a nice butt. I was totally aghast and had no clue how to respond. She finished up our conversation with a "Aren't we so lucky?" and a squeal of pleasure, then she ran off to talk to someone else. I remember standing there dumbstruck for about a minute thinking, "I just met you five minutes ago and you've already told me you have the hots for my husband." 

 

I still don't know what was going on in her mind, but I told dh about it later and he was so embarrassed and horrified. Needless to say I didn't spend much time interacting with her or her husband while we were there.

[Tangerine]

The most frequest weird thing I get asked in public is "who did your nose?"

 

If I had a dollar for every time I've been asked that, I'd have a tidy retirement savings by now, I'm sure. :laugh:

 

FWIW, my standard response is "my parents," which is the truth. It's all natural.

You must have a remarkable nose!

[ILiveInFlipFlops]

I love these threads! They always make me laugh, even at the really weird stuff. But this:

 

And he said......

 

"You should have more, because you have perfect Aryan children.  Our country needs more children like them for what is coming."

 

This made my mouth drop open like someone in a movie. WTH is wrong with people?!!! I actually think this may have ruined my day. Amber, your response was amazing. I don't know how I could have stopped myself from going off like a steam whistle. 

[Mrs.Wilson]

I have one son and five daughters.  When I was 9 months pregnant with #6 I was standing in the Customer Service line at Walmart with one of my daughters.  The lady in front of us turned around and asked when I was due.  I answered her and she replied, "You're carrying a boy.  I carried all my boys like that."  I said, "I'm actually having a girl.  I've carried all my girls like this."  She harrumphed and turned around.

[caedmyn]

When I was about 8 months pregnant with #5, I called to make a chiropractic appointment.  I asked to talk to the chiropractor before I made the appt because I wanted to ask specifically if he thought he could help with the particular problem I was having.  I told him I was pregnant and he said something along the lines of, "So how many kids is enough?"  I don't remember what I said in response, but I was thinking, "You're my chiropractor, I haven't seen you in about 3 years, and it is NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS!"  I try to think the best and hope he didn't mean it like it came across, but I don't think I'll be making any more appointments with him.

 

I used to baby-sit once a week for some kids when I was pregnant with #3.  One of them was about 6 years old, and when I was 7 or 8 months pregnant, she suddenly asked me, "Are you having a baby?"  I said, "Did you JUST notice?"

 

People constantly tell me how much my boys look alike, or how they all look like DH, or how much the baby looks like his brothers.  The older 3 look nothing alike, and the baby looks nothing like the others as babies either.  I'm sure if some were girls I'd be told they looked just like me.  Or people who know my brother tell me how much one or another of my boys look like him.  One has similar coloring, but none of them look anything like him either.  The two that get compared to my brother the most strongly resemble members of DH's family (his brother & nephew, and his uncle).  I just smile and nod when people say it now, and inwardly shake my head.

 

 

[FaithManor]

I was at a Brugger's Bagels with DH and my then 4-month old twins. A man, standing with his wife in line behind us, asked me if I delivered them vaginally :huh:

Just wow!!!

[Julie Smith]

People constantly tell me how much my boys look alike, or how they all look like DH, or how much the baby looks like his brothers.  The older 3 look nothing alike, and the baby looks nothing like the others as babies either.  I'm sure if some were girls I'd be told they looked just like me.  Or people who know my brother tell me how much one or another of my boys look like him.  One has similar coloring, but none of them look anything like him either.  The two that get compared to my brother the most strongly resemble members of DH's family (his brother & nephew, and his uncle).  I just smile and nod when people say it now, and inwardly shake my head.

 

When Eldest was a baby and toddler I was often told how he was just like my brother. I admit I could also see it.  

[Scarlett]

I have a good one!

 

While manning the punch table at my youngest brother's outdoor wedding reception in sweltering hot Bakersfield, CA, the pastor who had performed the ceremony approached me for a little chit-chat.  We had not met before, the bride's mother was a member of his congregation.  We were not even of the same faith.  He asked me which children were mine.  I pointed out the four of them running around.  He then asked me if I was planning to have more.  

 

I used to get this question frequently because 4 kids seems to be the sweet spot where people will either tell you they think you are crazy for overpopulating the planet, or people will tell you they think "giant" families like yours are great and you should have more.

 

Steeling myself for the usual comments I decided to go with the highly intelligent "I dunno," and add an eloquent shrug.

 

And he said......

 

"You should have more, because you have perfect Aryan children.  Our country needs more children like them for what is coming."

 

I wish I could say I said something intelligent, but I was speechless.  Who says crazy stuff like that?  Who thinks a stranger is going to share his horrifying, racist beliefs just because her children are blond?

 

He went on to ask me to point out my husband.  I couldn't help myself.  I pointed to the only African American man I knew at the reception, who happened to be my brother's best man.  Now it was his turn to be speechless.  He turned and stared at me for a few long moments.  I have very kinky, coily curly hair and he proceeded to tell me that people shouldn't be able to adopt outside their race.  And then he left.

 

My other SIL was standing next to me and she couldn't stop laughing.

 

Good times.

 

Amber in SJ

 

 

His comment is horrifying and your response was perfect.   Quick thinking!

[Guest]

I have a good one!

 

While manning the punch table at my youngest brother's outdoor wedding reception in sweltering hot Bakersfield, CA, the pastor who had performed the ceremony approached me for a little chit-chat. We had not met before, the bride's mother was a member of his congregation. We were not even of the same faith. He asked me which children were mine. I pointed out the four of them running around. He then asked me if I was planning to have more.

 

I used to get this question frequently because 4 kids seems to be the sweet spot where people will either tell you they think you are crazy for overpopulating the planet, or people will tell you they think "giant" families like yours are great and you should have more.

 

Steeling myself for the usual comments I decided to go with the highly intelligent "I dunno," and add an eloquent shrug.

 

And he said......

 

"You should have more, because you have perfect Aryan children. Our country needs more children like them for what is coming."

 

I wish I could say I said something intelligent, but I was speechless. Who says crazy stuff like that? Who thinks a stranger is going to share his horrifying, racist beliefs just because her children are blond?

 

He went on to ask me to point out my husband. I couldn't help myself. I pointed to the only African American man I knew at the reception, who happened to be my brother's best man. Now it was his turn to be speechless. He turned and stared at me for a few long moments. I have very kinky, coily curly hair and he proceeded to tell me that people shouldn't be able to adopt outside their race. And then he left.

 

My other SIL was standing next to me and she couldn't stop laughing.

 

Good times.

 

Amber in SJ

My God. But, good on you for coming up with that curveball. I wouldn't have thought of that until eight hours later.

[AmandaVT]

People often jump to conclusions about me because of my hair, and say weird things.

 

Once when I was with my big kids at the bank the security person said, "It's good to see a mixed sister represent!"  My college age kid explained what that meant.

 

A woman I met at a TKD tournament said, "Your husband must be white, because your kids have white people hair and you don't."

 

At Walmart I was buying a paddle brush for my youngest dd who has sensory issues and will only tolerate a certain brush and the cashier said, "I didn't think you could use a brush like that on hair like your people."

 

I complimented a little girl at the movie theater on her curly hair (I try to always do this because I despised my curly hair when I was little)  she told me her hair was curly because her daddy was black and then she asked me if my daddy was black.  I told her he wasn't but he also has curly hair and she looked at me with a squinched up face and said, "Are you sure your daddy ain't black?"

 

Amber in SJ

 

I got this a lot growing up as well. My mom has wavy hair and my dad has stick straight hair. Mine is very very curly/frizzy and I can't even remember the number of times I was asked if I was adopted or mixed race. My brother spent a number of years answering in fake surprise "We always wondered if mom had an affair with the mailman!!" 

 

The weirdest thing I've gotten more recently is when DH and I were first married. People would regularly assume that he was my dad. He is 9 years older than me and I looked young when I was in my 20's. But still! He looks young for his age too. It was weird. 

[saraha]

So just as an interesting side note, I was at the same grocery store later last week and said cashier was bagging groceries.  She laughed when she saw me and told the cashier ringing up my food "She was in her earlier and I told her, her hair made me sick" and just laughed again.  Weird.

[Audrey]

You must have a remarkable nose!

 

It must be!  It is cute, I suppose -- almost perfectly symmetrical button nose.

 

When I was acting, I used to get asked more often.  I remember one time when a certain notorious fellow actor flew into a rage because I wouldn't share my plastic surgeon with her.  I finally just repeated the name of one that I'd heard before, and then she scoffed at me and declared that there was no way he'd have been able to do that and that I was a truly awful human being for lying to her twice. 

 

Oh well! Sometimes you just can't win!

[FaithManor]

The most recent weird was at the bank. I was depositing my father figure's life insurance and the teller said, "Congratulations. Once the hold comes off the check, you can buy anything you want!"

 

Yes, she did know that it was LIFE insurance.

 

Good grief. Never been congratulated before on a death in the family.

[Amber in SJ]

I have an acquaintance who says the strangest things at park day.

 

When her oldest son turned 12 she said it was going to be so difficult now that he couldn't invite his friends over to their house because she knows that all the adolescent boys are looking at her lustfully and it just isn't right to put temptation in front of them like that.

 

Another time she said that the talks at church were so boring on Sunday that she amused herself by looking around at the men in the congregation and figuring out with whom she'd be sexually compatible.  She said,

 

"I could totally be married to M- (my Dh) because he looks like he is fun and a little bit naughty.  Is he naughty, Amber?"  What on earth?

 

But the very best was when we were taking about when your kids pretend they can't find things when they really don't want to look, or when your spouse pretends he can't hear the baby because he really wants to sleep and she said,

 

"Oooh! You know what I can't stand?  When you are asleep and you wake up and your husband is already "doing it" and you have to say, Babe!  I've got a tampon in."

 

Most of us were stunned into silence.  That was so much more information than I wanted to know about the both of them.

 

One friend whose baby was a barely a month old said, "If I am finally getting some sleep and Dh decides to get frisky, he'd better hope I stay asleep."

 

Amber in SJ

[Tammi K]

I have six kids. Facially, there is no denying they are siblings but among the first four, three have thick dark hair, wavy or extremely curly, Mediterranean complexions and sturdy build but daughter number two was waif-like with an Irish complexion and strawberry blond hair.   (We call number 5 the 'missing link' because she has the waif-like build and Irish complexion of number two but the curly hair of the others) 

 

So, back when the fifth was a tiny infant, we had gone to a parade and stopped in a Burger King afterward.  It was extremely crowded with parade-goers and we couldn't sit together. So, after we ordered we allowed the kids (ages 3-11) to sit at one table and my husband and I had the baby at a different table.  All of the kids had a full meal except number 2- the strawberry blond, waif. She just wanted some of her siblings fries.

 

As we ate our meal we noticed an elderly man come up to the kids and start talking.  Initially, we didn't assume anything untoward until we saw him pull out his wallet and offer #2 money.   She shook her head no a few times and he left.  Meanwhile, I saw what was happening with the money and sent DH over to the kids to intercede.  By the time DH got to the kids the man wandered off but it turns out the man saw my daughter eating only french fries from the other kids and assumed she was a guest of my children who didn't have enough money to buy herself food.  He thought it was sad that we didn't offer to buy her food as well, so he was offering her $5 for a meal. 

Edited May 31, 2017 by Tammi K

[Audrey]

I have an acquaintance who says the strangest things at park day.

 

When her oldest son turned 12 she said it was going to be so difficult now that he couldn't invite his friends over to their house because she knows that all the adolescent boys are looking at her lustfully and it just isn't right to put temptation in front of them like that.

 

Another time she said that the talks at church were so boring on Sunday that she amused herself by looking around at the men in the congregation and figuring out with whom she'd be sexually compatible.  She said,

 

"I could totally be married to M- (my Dh) because he looks like he is fun and a little bit naughty.  Is he naughty, Amber?"  What on earth?

 

But the very best was when we were taking about when your kids pretend they can't find things when they really don't want to look, or when your spouse pretends he can't hear the baby because he really wants to sleep and she said,

 

"Oooh! You know what I can't stand?  When you are asleep and you wake up and your husband is already "doing it" and you have to say, Babe!  I've got a tampon in."

 

Most of us were stunned into silence.  That was so much more information than I wanted to know about the both of them.

 

One friend whose baby was a barely a month old said, "If I am finally getting some sleep and Dh decides to get frisky, he'd better hope I stay asleep."

 

Amber in SJ

 

 

And this, my friends, is the post where Amber won the internet.  :gnorsi: 

[wathe]

Someone asked me at the park about my mixed race children, "What are they?"  I answered, "human". 

 

Someone else asked my Filipino-American husband "where are your people from"?  They didn't expect the name of our American city. 

 

I realize that people probably don't mean for these things to be so rude but if they thought just two seconds before opening their mouth, they could ask things in a much better way if they even chose to ask at all.  I talk to people in public all the time and most exchanges are really nice but sometimes. . .

 

We have had all of these, and the twin thing too.

 

"What are they", "Where did you get him?" (from a co-worker!), "They must look like their dad" - all code for "your children look so different from you that I can't help making a comment" I think.

 

DH gets variations of "where are you from" as code for "what's your race" all the time.  Folks are often not satisfied with **Canadian City** as an answer.

 

I get comments that my boys (1.5 years apart, different hair texture, different eye shape, 4 inch height difference, one asian-looking, one white-looking in features, but same colouring) must be twins regularly.   Just today at the fabric store (where we have been semi-regulars for years) the staff asked "How old are your boys now?" "8 and 9"  "I thought they were twins!  They grow so fast" - not rude, just small talk.  I think the fact that they look more like each other than they do me throws people off. 

[DesertBlossom]

I have an acquaintance who says the strangest things at park day.

 

When her oldest son turned 12 she said it was going to be so difficult now that he couldn't invite his friends over to their house because she knows that all the adolescent boys are looking at her lustfully and it just isn't right to put temptation in front of them like that.

 

Another time she said that the talks at church were so boring on Sunday that she amused herself by looking around at the men in the congregation and figuring out with whom she'd be sexually compatible. She said,

 

"I could totally be married to M- (my Dh) because he looks like he is fun and a little bit naughty. Is he naughty, Amber?" What on earth?

 

But the very best was when we were taking about when your kids pretend they can't find things when they really don't want to look, or when your spouse pretends he can't hear the baby because he really wants to sleep and she said,

 

"Oooh! You know what I can't stand? When you are asleep and you wake up and your husband is already "doing it" and you have to say, Babe! I've got a tampon in."

 

Most of us were stunned into silence. That was so much more information than I wanted to know about the both of them.

 

One friend whose baby was a barely a month old said, "If I am finally getting some sleep and Dh decides to get frisky, he'd better hope I stay asleep."

 

Amber in SJ

I have so many questions.

[snickerplum]

Our 3 girls were 3 and under when I was expecting our son and I got asked about it a lot. Once in Costco I was asked (for the dozenth time that pregnancy) if we knew what caused it (hardy har har) but in a more serious tone, "What birth control are you going to use after this one? Vasectomies are your best bet..." and proceeded to tell me about their very personal family experience with the procedure. In Costco. In front of my girls. And all the other shoppers. ??!!

Another favorite that I heard surprisingly often - what, are you like the Duggars? Yes. Because 4 is the same as over a dozen.

Also, "Are those two twins?" No. "Really? Are you sure?" Pretty sure.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Callie]

 

 

 

 

I'm pretty sure I've told this here before but about 12+ years ago I was grocery shopping with all 4 of my children when I bumped a woman with my cart.  Just barely grazed her leg.  I immediately apologized.  She then began to mock me.  Repeating back my apology in my very southern accent.   We were btw in my home town in very rural Kentucky my accent was the norm.  She then began to follow me around the store non-stop repeating my words.  Her poor dh was begging her to stop.  I finally had to stop shopping and have a store manager walk me to my car.  It was crazy and scary.

 

Edited May 31, 2017 by Callie

[Carrie12345]

How's this?

 

A few years back, I was having a conversation with a homeschooling newbie who kept trying to talk about her personal baggage, no matter how hard I tried to steer her back.  Turns out, she was divulging information about things that would eventually get her arrested for horrendous crimes.  Her husband was later arrested for the related crimes he committed.  

 

Some people thought I was mean for writing her off after that meeting.  (Heck, some people thought I was mean even after all the evidence came out!)

[RootAnn]

Mine are not nearly as exciting, but I'll share.

 

Before #5 came along, I would sometimes get the question, "Are they all yours?" with the follow up, "One is different than the others." Intentionally misunderstanding, I would reply, "Yes, that's because he's a boy." I assume they were actually referring to the fact that three of them were blonde (two with blue eyes) & one was dark haired/dark eyed. Only one of my five looks like me.

 

I have told this one before, but it still amazes me. Recently, I was at the grocery story (by myself) & ended up behind a woman from church. I said hello to her. After a pause, she said, "Oh, I didn't recognize you without all your children."  :huh:

Edited May 31, 2017 by RootAnn

[Cinder]

Our 3 girls were 3 and under when I was expecting our son and I got asked about it a lot. Once in Costco I was asked (for the dozenth time that pregnancy) if we knew what caused it (hardy har har) ...

 

I knew a young mom (married at 18yo) who said she was asked this a lot when she was pregnant with her third. Her oldest was just under 4yo at the time. Her standard response was, "Yes I do, and I *like* it!" 

 

:lol:

[Jean in Newcastle]

 "Oh, I didn't recognize you without all your children."  :huh:

 

I'm telling on myself here.  When ds first started taekwando many years ago, the dojo had a summer bbq a few months into our experience there.  I was at the grocery store and this man said "Hey, will I see you tonight?"  I did a double-take (while trying to place him as the instructor) and then said "Yes.  I'll be there.  I didn't recognize you at first without your robe on!"  Everyone around stopped and looked at me.  I turned bright red and wanted to be swallowed up by the floor. 

 

(And yes, I know that it is a gi and not a robe but it was one of those moments when strange things just pop out of your mouth.)  We got to be good enough casual friends that we would laugh about it later. 

[Hypatia.]

I've gotten the "are they all yours" and "do they have the same father" comments so many times. Last month I was at a family funeral and saw a lot of extended family members (my grandmother's cousins, I think everyone in the county is related somehow) and ended up with a few more. The funeral was on the other side of the country so I flew there alone and my husband stayed with our kids.

 

My brother is 11 years younger than I am, when I would take him around with me in high school a lot of people assumed he was my son. At the funeral we were standing in the receiving line, I'm now in my 40s and he is 30 and a foot taller than I am. He leaned over and whispered "you realize people think we're married, right?" I just laughed, but then the next lady came, I introduced myself, and she chatted for a minute and then said "and is this your husband?".  It was just odd to go from having people assume he was my child to having people assume he was my husband.

 

My father was standing on the other side of my brother and was talking with another distant cousin and he told her who my brother and I were, and that I was expecting my 7th. She glanced over at me and said "does she know?".  :huh:  Um, yes, not quite sure what to say about that. As if by now I didn't know what caused the sciatica and obviously expanded waistline. 

[Butter]

I'm telling on myself here.  When ds first started taekwando many years ago, the dojo had a summer bbq a few months into our experience there.  I was at the grocery store and this man said "Hey, will I see you tonight?"  I did a double-take (while trying to place him as the instructor) and then said "Yes.  I'll be there.  I didn't recognize you at first without your robe on!"  Everyone around stopped and looked at me.  I turned bright red and wanted to be swallowed up by the floor. 

 

(And yes, I know that it is a gi and not a robe but it was one of those moments when strange things just pop out of your mouth.)  We got to be good enough casual friends that we would laugh about it later. 

Our instructor has been told "I didn't recognize you with your clothes on!" many times!  I would not be surprised if you weren't the first to say something like that and you surely won't be the last.

[Selkie]

My sister's worst story tops all of mine - she has creepily had several men at Walmart ask to *BUY* her blonde infant daughter.  I thought she was kidding until I went with her one day and someone made the comment, "How much for her?" while pointing at my niece right in front of me.  I told her she should call the police.  Because Eeewww.

 

:scared:  That is so creepy!

[AnnE-girl]

Our instructor has been told "I didn't recognize you with your clothes on!" many times! I would not be surprised if you weren't the first to say something like that and you surely won't be the last.

When I was a kid our priest told the story of how, when he was visiting his sister and her family, he had said Mass at their home for the family. His young nephew told the kids in their neighborhood that his uncle the priest said Mass "without his clothes on!" His mom had to explain to the neighbors that her brother was wearing clothes, but not the vestments he usually wore while saying Mass.

[Carrie12345]

I'm telling on myself here.  When ds first started taekwando many years ago, the dojo had a summer bbq a few months into our experience there.  I was at the grocery store and this man said "Hey, will I see you tonight?"  I did a double-take (while trying to place him as the instructor) and then said "Yes.  I'll be there.  I didn't recognize you at first without your robe on!"  Everyone around stopped and looked at me.  I turned bright red and wanted to be swallowed up by the floor. 

 

(And yes, I know that it is a gi and not a robe but it was one of those moments when strange things just pop out of your mouth.)  We got to be good enough casual friends that we would laugh about it later. 

 

I once took forever to recognize my own aunt in a grocery store.  We had just moved to the area, and I forgot she had a vacation home nearby.  Having never seen her outside of a family get together, my brain took embarrassingly long to process who was calling my name!

 

On the stuff that comes out of mouths...  Dh was starting to have a mini freak out at the tax office, because he didn't have his check book for a direct deposit.  What do I say, in this tiny office that was pretty full, but very quiet?

 

"Relax! Just use my joint."  (Joint check book, of course.)

[Julie Smith]

Funny because it was a little kid. 

 

The neighbor Dad must had a vasectomy. I know because when I was walking by their house their little boy told me, "Daddy can't come out to play because the doctor cut off his wiener". 

 

The Dad then yelled out, "He did not cut it off!"

 

----

 

Many years ago I was watching a TV show on my Ipad. Something like Bones, or Castle. (Crime investigation) I told my boys to leave me alone unless they needed something. The neighbor came over and the boys saw her and told her, "Mommy can't come out because she locked herself in her room to watch adult movies. We are suppose to leave her alone till she is done."

 

To my boys at that age anything that wasn't, "Thomas the Tank Engine" or "Dora" was an adult movie. 

Edited May 31, 2017 by Julie Smith

[Guest]

Clearly, we need to start a PSA about not talking to others in the grocery store.

[TABmom]

I had a woman that I had only talked to a few times while our kids were in an activity together tell me that her oldest was not her husband's, but the boy didn't know and they weren't going to tell him. I thought 'if you're telling random people, the secret is going to get out!"

[DesertBlossom]

I had a woman that I had only talked to a few times while our kids were in an activity together tell me that her oldest was not her husband's, but the boy didn't know and they weren't going to tell him. I thought 'if you're telling random people, the secret is going to get out!"

Wow. That is going to end badly.

[Guest]

Mine are not nearly as exciting, but I'll share.

 

Before #5 came along, I would sometimes get the question, "Are they all yours?" with the follow up, "One is different than the others." Intentionally misunderstanding, I would reply, "Yes, that's because he's a boy." I assume they were actually referring to the fact that three of them were blonde (two with blue eyes) & one was dark haired/dark eyed. Only one of my five looks like me.

 

I have told this one before, but it still amazes me. Recently, I was at the grocery story (by myself) & ended up behind a woman from church. I said hello to her. After a pause, she said, "Oh, I didn't recognize you without all your children." :huh:

Ah, but this I understand, because I rely on multiple cues to recognize people and their kids are one cue. I'm really quite deficient at recognizing people out of context.

[bethben]

I've had a few weird ones lately, weird enough that I started a thread awhile back to discuss my questions about them.

 

Once, at the grocery store, I had a woman stop me to ask if all my kids were mine. This isn't unusual because I have four kids aged 7 and under, and I know that weirds out many people. I smiled politely and said yes. She proceeded to tell me, loudly and in front of my kids, that I had too many, that I should have stopped at two if I had to have any at all, and that our family is a drain on society. She said a lot of other things, too, basically about how I should be like her and why didn't I know that?

 

 

I have a friend who has 9 children.  She was verbally abused and yelled at in the library by someone who felt her family's carbon footprint was too big and that she should be ashamed that people like her were ruining the planet.  In the small town I came from, it was not surprising but sad.

[RootAnn]

Ah, but this I understand, because I rely on multiple cues to recognize people and their kids are one cue. I'm really quite deficient at recognizing people out of context.

 

I get the clothing-link and the in-certain-contexts-link because I sometimes have trouble recognizing people at the pool due to the different outfittedness, so to speak, of their attire. Or, people I met at the pool don't look familiar when I see them in normal clothes. I think it would have been different if she would have said, "... not dressed up" or "not in a dress" or even that she didn't recognize me "outside of church." But, really, I look the same with and without my kids. I promise. And we've lived here for 14 years.

 

Then again, if she's as bad with faces as I am with names, I'll cut her some slack.  :leaving: