Greek Women

One of the great things about having a cute baby boy with me all the time is the amount of attention we get everywhere we go. I meet new people EVERYDAY. People always want to touch his white blonde hair and if it wasn't so invasive they would probably kiss his chunky thighs. They always say they want to!

So I was down at my neighborhood Farm Fresh grocery store on friday, and there were these two older women who were shopping. It was clear that this was their big outing for the day, and they were dressed nicely with their hair and makeup all done. Then there was me with my undone hair, no makeup, and Clark's slobber on my jeans. They each had a cart, and they each had one thing in their cart...some meat I had never bought nor seen before. They were talking to each other in English, but it was clear they had European accents that I couldn't quite place. The second they saw Clark, they got OUT of line and came over and were kissing and stroaking Clark saying that he was the cutest thing they had ever seen. I asked where they were originally from and they said Greece, which I had to kick myself for not guessing because these two were straight out of "My Big Fat Greek Wedding". I always had thought that movie played big on stereotypes, but it didn't. These two were a total crackup. I ended up talking to them outside of Farm Fresh for 20 minutes. I know how many kids and grandkids they have, and I also know that one grandchild almost got engaged, and came to his grandmother and said he wasn't sure if he should propose because he had just found out she had no interest in having children, to which my new Greek friend said (to be read with a classic greek accent for full effect) "Don't you give that ring to her, don't do it. What is the point in getting married if you don't have children". He didn't give the ring to her. She said I was very skinny and that she was the same way after having her children, but one of her daughters got fat after having her children. Hearing that information you might think this lady was rude, but I think only Greek women can say something like that about their daughters and somehow get away with it.

I have always enjoyed talking to old people...their life experiences always seem to automatically gush out when you engaged in a conversation with them, and I am always educated or at least entertained by it. There have been times when I have passed strangers at the store or on the street and wonder what kind of people they are. I wonder if they are married, have children, or what kind of job they have. In our culture, we just don't engage in conversation with strangers very often, and I think it is sad. Those ladies put a smile on my face that day, and I have silently chuckled everytime I have thought about them since.