I was paying for my lunch at a buffet today. I had the exact change out for one adult, but for some reason or another the cashier felt compelled to ask me, "You're not a senior, are you?"
I just gaped at her. Could she possibly mean senior citizen?
"I'm thirty-four," I said, my tone probably not being as pleasant as it could be.
"Well, I didn't think so," she said, or something to that effect.
"I hope I don't look that old," I said. If anything, people usually think I look younger than I am.
"No, it's just. . .there's another woman who comes in here who kind of looks like you, only she is a senior," the cashier says. "I got the two of you confused."
This didn't exactly make me feel better. Maybe what she was trying to say was that this woman didn't look old enough to get the senior discount, either. The cashier is also young enough that she probably thinks everyone over 25 is old. But still.
To my way of thinking, in that kind of situation, if it's not obvious, the cashier should wait for the customer to tell her. Then the cashier can say, "Oh, sorry, I just thought you looked way too young to qualify for the senior discount," and everyone is happy. The way the cashier I encountered did it, no one is happy. She feels stupid; I feel old. Well, I don't exactly feel old. I feel that maybe people are thinking I look old, even though I really don't have any wrinkles (honest!) and still have to use facial cleanser that cuts down on oil. I pull out the occasional stray gray hair.
It's kind of like asking someone if she is pregnant. If she's not, you've basically just called her fat. This happened to me once when I was about 15 pounds heavier than I am now and wearing a dress that didn't really help the situation. Only the person who asked me if "I was going to have my baby soon" wouldn't let it go.
"I really thought you were going to have a baby," she kept saying. It was almost as if she thought maybe I was unaware that I was pregnant, and would end up giving birth on the toilet or something.
"Trust me," I said through gritted teeth.
I stopped wearing that dress after that. Clearly it failed to do me justice.
The things I've said aren't things that everyone hasn't heard before. But clearly, the message bears repeating.
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Yes, I think you are right about most people not having a clue! I've had people think I was much younger, too. Once last year when I was working at the high school, I helped schedule a student, and then they called upon a student volunteer to show the new student around the school. Well, the student came up to me, thinking I was the student! I said, "No, not me, but thanks for thinking it was a possibility!" All the adults around just cracked up. I don't think I've aged tremendously in the past year, so I think I still probably look pretty young to many people.
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