Swistle wrote an amazing piece about the Grocery Store Guessing Game, about how some of us – either consciously or unconsciously – gaze into a stranger’s cart at the grocery store and try to assume their life by the contents of the buggy.  And it’s amazing, what we all assume by a buggy or by other circumstances – school drop-offs, bus stops, coffee houses – and how often we never know the whole story.  How could we, right?

Man, I am horrible about this.  A lot of it is Mommy Guilt associated, because I naturally assume that no one has it as hard as Working Mom/ME.  Especially Perfectionist Working Mom.  Geez, she is quite the stickler and it is NOT an easy road for her.  So you ladies who lunch are CLEARLY shirking your duties.

(But you’re not.  PEOPLE HAVE TO EAT.  I could eat too, if I really really wanted to.)

See?  I judge.  I judge, usually with a SNAP!, and BOOM! it’s solidified.

I work on it, I really, really do.  But I’m not always successful.  And I’ve been on the receiving end of it.

I’ve been assumed the mother of children who aren’t mine.  Before I was even a stepmom, I often took care of a friend’s little boy.  He had light hair and he was youngish, and people ALWAYS assumed he was mine. 

I’ve been assumed to be a master chef.  Sure, I like to cook.  That does not – as my family will hurriedly assure you – guarantee that everything I make will be a masterpiece.  Or even edible. 

I’ve been assumed to be a diva.  Um, I am a perfectionist.  With OCD.  But I am not rude and I am not dishonest and I am not unwilling to work for the perfection.  Also, I’m a lot of fun.  Divas are the opposite of all this.

I’ve been assumed to be skinnier. An ex-coworker of mine, who had moved across the country with his job, keeps up with the blog and we got to chatting online one night and he saw a recent picture of me.  “You used to be way skinnier,” he said.  “The way you talk about exercise and nutrition, I assumed ..” Thanks, man.  Back atcha.

But as much as these happened, I still can’t not judge.  I WISH I COULD TURN IT OFF, but I can’t.  And when I hear a SAHM talk about how she has no time.. and her only child is in school, you know, for 7 periods a day .. my head explodes.  EXPLODES.  Especially when 1) what a gift! to be able to stay at home! WOULD LOVE THAT GIFT! and 2) MAYBE LAY OFF OF THE FACEBOOK.  Look, I’ll admit that I’d probably be a lousy SAHM – not that I wouldn’t love the opportunity to prove that theory – but I know (KNOW!) that I’d be rocking the time-management aspect.

Anyway.  I had no point to this.  Go visit Swistle and talk about snap judgements you’ve made based on circumstances, or if you’ve had one made about you.