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Sometimes I say, "I never would have guessed that!" Sometimes it's because I think they look younger. Sometimes it's because I think they look older. Usually it's because I wasn't trying to guess their age in the first place
God no..... keep age out of it always.. no matter what... what I cant stand is the older man or woman who boast about their age saying........IM 78 years of age. as if they deserve a medal... christ theyve done nothing to get to that age.. every time I hear this I cringe thinking of the children who have never made it to their teenage years ...
I just tell people that it is just too hard to guess ages. I once guessed the age of a man and guessed 15 years older than he was, a co-worker, which did not make for the best working relationship, after that I knew better than to go "there"!
So I work with the public and there's been numerous times people will just flat out tell me their age without me asking them. They might mention it's their birthday and blurt out their age, they are retiring and age, their kids are this age and they are that age, etc etc etc etc.
Without fail like it's an automatic response, I always tell them they look younger for their age. Most of the times I never mean it but to be polite.
Do you do this as well? Tell someone they look younger than their age even though you believe otherwise?
When I was working I did not comment on the appearance of strangers unless they were unusually attractively dressed, or if when they mentioned their age (if they did) they really looked considerably younger than that age.
The idea that sucking up to people with lies is "to be polite," is one of the stupidest comments on CD yet. And a truly twisted idea of what polite means.
I think people bring up age so they can bring a different perspective on a topic in a group of younger people. Sometimes I mention my age to 30 somethings who grew up with cable news and I grew up with four channels. That's how we got our news in the 70's and it's an important distinction as the 24 hour news cycle and the internt, social media have changed everything. Sometimes young people need a reminder that though 40-50 somethings may still look young to them we still grew up in a different world so we see things differently. So a 30 year old may not ASK me how old I am but I will put it out there to remind people that things weren't always like the present. If, upon telling a young whipper snapper my age, they are surprised because they didn't realize that "older" people can still look good and be relevant then that's on them.
I honestly hate it because people think I look 21 or even 18 because I shave virtually everyday. Most people would know that I can drink for over eight years now and act way more mature than a 21 year old does.
I have asked people how old they thought I was, but the conversations usually goes something like this:
Person and I are talking about all sorts of things, when suddenly they'll say, "Just how old are you, anyway?"
Me: "*gives age*. Umm, how old did you think I was?"
Person: "Well, I'd first guessed mid-30's, but some of the things you were saying would only make sense if you were about ten years older (which I am), so I wasn't sure." (This is usually if we're talking about favorite bands from our teenage years or events that happened when we were teenagers.)
My sister and I are frequently mistook for identical twins. She *is* in her mid-30's, I'm in my mid-40's. She was saying that was a great compliment to me. I teased her and said, "Or it could be a great insult to you." (To be honest though, if she weren't my sister, I'd be more inclined to say she's in her late 20's. I guess that could be seen as bragging about how I think I look! )
My eye doctor questioned my age recently, since I've yet to need reading glasses. I confirmed I really am in my mid-40's.
I don't go looking for remarks, but I figure they're well-meant, and given how they come about, I'm going to presume genuine.
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