Once, while walking through a park, a person I know appeared from around a corner on the other side, walking opposite to me. There was some distance between us, but upon recognizing each other, we waved and she yelled, “You look great!”
Surprised, I lifted my shoulders a little higher, and yelled back, “Thanks! You made my day. You look great too!”
We continued walking, but I noticed her head tilt to one side; she seemed to be staring at me. I thought, wow, I’m pretty hot today, I guess?
Soon we were directly across from each other, and that’s when she said, smiling, “I think you misheard me; I said you look late.”
We laughed and laughed. For a while, whenever we saw each other, we would greet each other with this inside joke, “You look great!” And chuckle again.
Remembering this, I wonder...perhaps the secret to happiness is 1) age-related hearing loss; 2) a heaping helping of self-delusion? Or perhaps happiness is the human connection formed when 3) we laugh at our gaffes? AKA being gaffe-able (gaffe + affable). 😜
13 comments:
I vote for all three!
Blessed are those who can laugh at themselves for they shall never cease to be amused.
I had a patient talk to me one time about his CT scan and he was worried about his balls, (the man also had a heavy accent). I reassured him that several times that his balls would not be affected, until finally I realized he was trying to say his bowels.
I'm that kind of nurse:)
That's funny! Self delusion and also being able to laugh at myself keep me going.
Codex: lol at the meme
Those fun moments will become more frequent as we age.
We have some laughs over my hearing loss. Sometimes, even though I know that I didn't hear accurately, I will repeat what it did sound like to me. My dad was also impaired, and I remember one time home asking in surprise, "You want me to weed the carpet?!" I expect that he also knew that wasn't what was really said, but he gave us a very good laugh, and I remember the incident about 70 years later. What I can't remember is what was said in the first place.
Yes! Andy and I laugh a lot more than we used to. One advantage of getting older is we don't fuss about little things.
That is a great memory! It really does make life more pleasant when we can laugh over gaffes, especially our own.
I don't care for people who take themselves too seriously.
Made me smile. Human connections, however fleeting are good for the soul
This is happening to my husband and I way too often of late. We argue over things neither of us said but what we HEARD. Good thing we can laugh about it!!
Smiles and laughter are something we all need.
With Age comes that misheard things people say. Once the Staff had ordered Pizza at the Antique Mall I Sell at. One of the Vendors asked me if I could give her some "Little Scissors" and I thought she asked if I could give her some "Little Cesar's" which was the Pizza the Young People had bought, so I told her, No, it wasn't my Pizza! She looked at me strangely and another Employee told me, No, she asked you for some Little Scissors! We all Laughed... it can be funny.
You probably looked late AND great, especially when you laughed, because that was the best way to respond to her/your gaffe! And I especially love that it’s now your inside joke. Both of you continuing to look great!
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