Do I really look that pathetic?

I should mention that I take my son to the park often, since we live in a townhome and all we have is a large concrete patio. When he takes a long nap, the park is the only place he can burn off all that extra steam.

Now that you are assured that I am not some weirdo who is constantly hanging around parks for the jollies of it, I can tell you what happened the other day.

DS was playing on the big kid equipment, like he always does. A nice looking younger man with his son arrived onto the playground, and we exchanged pleasantries about our sons. He seemed nice enough, and I thought nothing of it. His wife arrived about an hour later, also young and pretty. Somehow we all just got to talking about things in general, and she complemented me on my engagement ring, which I wear on my right hand. I thanked her and laughed, joking that the ring was from our "pre-baby" days when I was working and we had money to throw around. She said she thought it was a great thing that I was staying home with my child, and that it goes too fast, so better to stay at home. More inane chatter, and it was time for us to go.


As I was buckling DS into his carseat, the wife, whose name by the way is Cricket, (I kid you not) approached the car. She said, "You know, I see that you have a nice car, so your husband takes care of you. I mean, I'm not trying to imply that he doesn't, but are you possibly interested in additional revenue streams?"


At that point I was just trying to gauge what the heck she was talking about, so I said, "Sure." She explained that her husband was involved in some 300 business opportunities or some such thing. She told me that she had a "soft spot" for stay-at-home moms. "I know how easy it would be to go to work and be able to buy all the clothes and shoes and stuff," she said with a very earnest expression. At any rate, I gave her our phone number and she was off on her merry way. She felt that our husbands could discuss things and possibly work something out.


So, as I was driving off I wondered why the heck I gave my unlisted number to a complete stranger. Then, I was thinking it had been a while since I last had my hair colored. I don't normally wear makeup to the park, and I don't really care what my clothes look like as long as they somewhat match and are clean. Did I really look that much in need of financial help? Could she of the matching Polo velour track outfit and the watch that was still set on "Jamaica time" know that my sweatshirt was literally over a dozen years old? I live in an affluent area even though we are not particularly affluent. Do I really stand out that much? Watch out, charity case coming through...

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