A TYPICAL DAY DURING CHRISTMAS WEEK
Today, just some random observations to share with you...heck, call 'em "musings", right?  Anyway, the wife and I went Christmas shopping this morning; we fortunately both had the day off work.  So...we hit various decoration/home gift stores...a book store...some toy stores...a clothing store.  It was fun.  We got some good stuff.  Then we went out to lunch at a nice steak place...

Anyway, the thought that struck me when we got home was this:  nobody with whom we dealt seemed to show the slightest hint that they thought we looked different.  Nobody, that is, seemed to realize we had a different physical condition.  I assume most of you readers know the facts:  both my wife Lisa and I have Moebius Syndrome.  And of course, when people go out shopping, you know what happens--you wind up dealing with lots of people: store clerks, other shoppers, waitresses, etc.  And all of you who have Moebius know the score--you can all tell when other people, who don't have Moebius, recognize that you do, that you look "different"--they give you a certain look, a certain pause.  And on some days, that can seem to happen to you a lot!

But other days, it doesn't at all.  Isn't it kind of weird?  Isn't it random?  Some days it seems like everybody stares at you.  Other days, it seems like nobody does.  Oh, there may have been one slight incident this morning...we were at a children's clothing store, and a little girl I think was eyeing me a bit strangely.  But not much, not for long.

It's interesting to think about why that might be; why DON'T more people notice my wife and I on days like today?  Could it be because we sort of, intentionally or not, hide it?  We both wear glasses.  We both are careful in our pronunciation when we speak to strangers.  We both are older, so we're used to this kind of thing--how to present yourself well to others.  And of course clerks in stores want to treat others well--they want you to keep coming back and spending your money.

But then also, some days it just happens that way; some days people don't notice...maybe other days, when it wasn't so busy, they would.  That's life.  I do think that one important lesson I've learned in dealing with the world is, do indeed be careful and, when speaking to others, pronounce things carefully and speak slowly.  That does help.  And some days are just good days.  Nothing wrong with that--it is Christmas time, after all.

"And God bless us, every one."--Tiny Tim.