Josh CharlesThe elevator door was closing and a man's friendly voice called to me, "Hurry! I'm holding it for you." I maneuvered my shopping cart in with his help and he commented on all my stuff. "Are you just moving in?" he wondered. "I haven't seen you before." He sounded sorry. I told him I've been here eight years. "How come we haven't met?" he asked.
He looked like Will on The Good Wife, with kind of a flirtatious air about him. I felt like Julianna Margulies. "Which floor?" he said.
I told him and he pressed the button for me. Some guy he knew got on and he said hello. Then he indicated me and said, "She's been here for eight years and we've never met. Can you believe that?"
When the door opened for me, he wiggled my cart out and smiled. And then he said something I wasn't ready for. "It was so nice to meet you, Ma'am."
Ma'am?
Suddenly I remembered I'm not the girl I think I am.
I'm old.
Love it. I got a good laugh, but it was one of sympathy. We're never quite what we think we are, right?
ReplyDeleteI remember my first "maam". It was distressing. I still feel 22 most of the time. I wouldn't go back- I'm happy where I am, but sometimes its a little shock to walk by a mirror. Thanks for sharing... it made me smile.
ReplyDeleteYoung or old, you look good :)
ReplyDeleteLOL, Marty, you make me laugh. I wouldn't even call you "Ma'am."
ReplyDeleteWhen I saw the picture I thought "Oh My Gosh, 'Will' is her son"!!! Thanks for another great post!
ReplyDeleteLOL! I don't think i'v ever used the word ma'am!
ReplyDeleteI love it! i guess we will never stop thinking of ourselves any different that those cute girls in that black and red coat/dress outfit. It's good to take the best of ourselves. We picture looking like we used to, but knowing what we know now. It makes us perfect!
ReplyDeleteI'm starting to realize that my brain is alot younger than my body. When it started happening I asked my husbands 80+ grandmother about it and she laughed and said.
ReplyDelete"Sometimes I look in the mirror and want to know who that wrinkled old lady is."
It's kind of a sad, scary, silly feeling to realize that you will inevitably end up a prisoner in your own body. Yet it makes me realize the immortality of the spirit within me.
How else can you explain that sensation!?
I can't tell you how often I've looked in the mirror and wondered, What happened?!
ReplyDelete(By the way - ever see Josh Charles in Sports Night? I loved that show - it's worth trying to rent)
CLASSIC! love this, marty.
ReplyDeletei insist my children say yes/no ma'am or sir when speaking to adults. so if you ever adopt my kids like i've suggested you do many times, don't be offended when they do that.
At first I got all excited thinking he lived in your building. And then I started planning my trip out there where I would spend every second on the elevators looking for him. Then I got it and laughed out loud. Not at you. WITH you.
ReplyDeleteYup, the person inside me is not the reflection in the store window. That was a serious shock to me the other day. Do my tennis shoes and denim dress really look that frumpy?
ReplyDeleteYou're adorable.
ReplyDeleteI got all excited the other day remembering that there was a girl named Marti in my SA group-- short, brown hair, spunky, sweet-- obviously she wasn't you. But for a minute there I was very confused.
ahhhh...so sorry...
ReplyDeleteIsn't it funny how we never think of ourselves as old until someone calls us "ma'am?"
ReplyDeleteHah! But, Oma, you are not old, you're ADORABLE!
ReplyDeleteCan I tell you how much I love reading your posts again?!! You're my favorite blogger and I can always find something here to relate to even during the wee hours when I find myself unable to sleep yet again. Thank you! Warm regards, Susan
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