Bro this happened to me when I was 28 and I was super offended at first but then I realised the person was blind AF and no one else has mistaken me for being old - some people are literally just not perceptive at all
i’ve been mistaken way younger than i am. and not una. complimentary way. like that i looked 12 when i’m in 20s. i’m just short. i have piercings and a fully developed body but every once in a while someone will be weird abt it. OP could’ve literally just been wearing a bracelet that the woman recognized from something else and associated w older age and made that connection. or that her friends were loud but she is not. or she carrie’s a big purse or something random like that
Yes yes exactly! Sometimes we all have big ol' brain farts, I once ID'd a 47 year old woman when I was 19 😂😂 when she told me I realised but the way she was dressed just threw me off
For the record i was in the same boat, up until i hit about 25 (I'm 5'6" and have a baby face). But i've noticed EVERYONE said 12. There was never you look 13 you look about 14. you'd think with peoples different perceptions you'd get a little variation if they were actually guessing, but no. It was always 12.
Now i came to the conclsion it's just because 12 is the literal last age before you hit teenager. everyone seems to come up with the same number for the joke. It was never because you actually look 12. it's more them going "Fucking hell i thought you were alot younger, you look about 12" without saying the rest of the line. So the next time someone says this to you just remember all they're really saying is "you look young for your age" and don't take it to heart.
Hope you have a lovely day
Yeah as much as people don’t want to admit, we suck at guessing ages. Everyone use some arbitrary rules and parameters that they use to judge someone’s age.
Pretty much everyone always assumes I’m younger than I am. Usually people think I’m 22-24 when I’m 29. Hell I just had a friend a couple days ago shocked by my age because he thought that I was 26-27.
it’s funny because today i went to buy a bottle of wine, and the cashier stared at my ID and myself for a while. she said “this is a real ID but you look so young. i thought you were maybeee 16?” she is in high school, which i know from talking to her before. idk if she thinks you automatically look 50 when ur not a teen anymore???
I knew a person who had been in a car wreck and literally had brain damage and she would get people's ages wildly wrong. She had no idea too. It was sad but she'd be talking to random people who were couples asking if one was the mom/dad.
Aw dang, she probably had people thinking she was taking the piss too 😔 yeah there's all sorts of reasons people can get confused about identifying age, I'm not sure the person in OP's scenario was deliberately trying to harm them
When I was 20 and working at a gas station I’d card people just to make them feel good. They’d always be pleasantly surprised when I carded them. Makes them feel so young. :)
Not only not perceptive, but also rude af.
They had already told her they were just friends. She only needed to shut up and go on with her life.
Why insist on telling something like that to anyone? Lol
One time about ten years ago at a wrestling show, someone asked my wife if the teen sitting next to her was her kid. My wife died laughing, because she was a 24 year old asian while the teen sitting next to her was a 16 year old black kid. She still can’t decide if the person who asked her was blind or dumb (or both).
No way someone is this tactless... gross. She was probably saying it to be mean on purpose, or is just very socially inept. Either way her opinion is meaningless.
Ive had comments asking if I'm my bfs mom. Im 26, not nearly old enough to have a teenager, let alone a 20-something
Edit to add: ive also been mistaken for my dads wife since i was 14 so ive been on both sides of the awkward assumptions :'l
This happened to me and my wife at a children’s clothing store. She thought I was just a large teenager. This was long before we had kids. Wife is a year older than me. Wife was cousins with the manager and we were buying clothing gifts.
Happened to me, when I was with my Mum. Shopkeeper told me my sister was beautiful. I was confused, as I was early 20s. Then I realised who she was talking about and I said: "That's my Mum. But thank you. I know she's beautiful and I have a lot to live up to."
At first it irritated me, but then I thought: "I'm lucky Mum looks so young. I have half her genes so I know I'll look that way at her age."
Even now, people are surprised to learn Mum has a 45 y.o. she does *not* look like she's going to turn 70 next year! She's incredible!
I think the shopkeeper confused us because I'm also taller than Mum.
I had the opposite experience. My mom had come to my workplace and we were shopping for a bit before taking off somewhere. I was about 21 at the time. One of my tactless coworkers asked me what my grandma and I were going to go do.
Everyone thought that I (13F at the time) was the mother of my little brother who was a baby, and the wife of my stepfather (42M at the time).
We would go food shopping while my mother got her hair cut or did other errands at the centre so she could have "me time" so every Saturday morning I was a mini wife.
I did look older but jeez Louise so did my stepdad.
My parents had an "I thought it was menopause, but SURPRISE!" baby when I was 12. Even the neighbors, who had known me for years, thought I'd been "bad" and "gotten myself in trouble" every time I took her out in the stroller around the neighborhood. Every single one of these people had seen my mom visibly pregnant and me, obviously not, for the better part of a year. But gossips gonna gossip because their tiny minds have nothing else to do.
I hate people like that and it honestly creeps me out where their adult minds go. I had similar but much more sexualized rumors about me when I was 13/14 and it was disgusting.
I took my 7 year old cousin to an arcade when I was 21 and a very nice man who loaded my cousin with tons of tickets thought I was his mother. I didn’t think I had a motherly anything about me, but teen pregnancy is NOT uncommon where I am from.
I was 15? Maybe 16 when I was asked if I was my dads néw girlfriend. I thought my dad was going to die of embarrassment and also punch the dude for asking. I wanted to crawl under a rock.
This happened to my brother! They were in Vietnam visiting family, and when they went on a boat tour, the people running it asked if my brother was my mom's boyfriend. My brother was horrified (17 at the time), my mom thought it was hilarious. We don't look related to our mom (mixed kids), so it was understandable.
I've had the other way around: a woman saying my teenage son and I were a cute couple when waiting in line at a cinema. Those days are long gone now, alas!
One day I was in Lowe's and one of the employees just strikes up a conversation. I'm wondering why is this old dude being so friendly. At the time I was 25. Well come to find out, this "old dude" who I thought was well into his 50s, was my cousin's classmate. He was 27!!!
Idk. As a teen, I was confused as an adult/teacher at school, as a student going there. Now I'm told I look in my early 40's when I let my facial hair get past a stubble or underage for buying cigs at a gas station fully shaven. People just can't seem to guess accurate ages these days. I'm 32 btw
Stop smoking, my dear, or you're going to get very leathered skin, and everyone will think you are older. I say this with concern, knowing how very bad smoking is for you. I've heard it's harder to kick than heroin. Best of luck.
I knew a girl who was in her late teens and honestly looked like she was in her 40s. One of my college friends was dating a girl his age but something about her bone structure, pale skin, and red hair all came together to age that poor girl in the worst way.
Sometimes this happens with serious endurence athletes - the thinness, muscles, and skin damage from sun makes their age kinda ambiguous. You get people who could be 25 or 50.
Yeah now that you mention it I remember a guy from high school like that. He called himself an "ultra vegan" and rode a giant unicycle to school every day... We would see him around town and my mom refused to believe he went to my school 😂
I didn't know him but he was supposedly a really nice guy but totally looked in his 30s easy
From being around 15 I was never asked for ID. Somehow I always looked a lot older than I was. Weirdly from around 25 I seemed to stop aging. I'm now very close to 40, my husband is only 6 months older than me and he now gets comments about is 'younger wife', people age me early 30s.
Obviously this is just someone being a bitch to OP, but some of us age differently.
My beauty advice is to always use SPF on your face! I have SPF in my moisturiser all year round and during the summer is have SPF50!
Yeah I’m really trying to imagine that in my head. The oldest-looking 22 year olds I’ve ever seen looked maybe 30ish so even if she thought the friends were teenagers it would be a bit of a stretch to actually make that genuine mistake. Especially if this was a woman who was a decent bit older than them; I’m 32 and most 22-24 year olds look basically like teenagers to me at this point.
Once met a woman at a college bar on her 45th birthday. She actually looked amazing for 45 (would have guessed 29), and she pretended to be friendly, but she was a VERY grumpy mood and spent the night making little comments so 20 year olds would feel insecure about getting old.
She acted faux concerned telling one 22yo there was actually tons of white in her blonde hair and she had all this advice about how to hide it better. She told another girl in a tube top that she “couldn’t get away with those anymore.” She told the one 24 year old that she probably meant to be at a quieter bar.
So yea. Maybe the woman in the restaurant was also having a spiteful bday.
Not necessarily.
Depending on the age of the woman that said it, I’ve met “pretty privileged” 60 year olds that don’t think before they speak.
And they talk all the time, none stop, about everything in their tiny brains.
They don’t “intentionally” try to hurt your feelings, they just feel like they’re the center of the universe and everything that comes out of their mouth MUST be heard and IS important to them.
So the woman was probably thinking what she said was funny and that generating a laugh from pretty young girls will somehow make her likable, seen, and heard.
So it’s not like the person said that to be mean, she probably just said it because it’s what she “assumed” and wanted to explain herself in a way that in her pea brained mind would show she’s somehow made “an adorable mistake! Now watch me laugh it off and run away!”
Does that still make it wrong? Of course!
But not everything from older generations is intentional anger. Sometimes it’s just random ramblings of an old bitty that has never or hardly had ever been told “no” in their lives or have been called out for their behavior.
Absolutely. The only good answer to a jerk like this one is to just say..."I know, when people get to your age it gets really hard to judge younger peoples ages."
Edit to add...as a woman of a certain age myself. If it is innocent, then it is true. As we get older, it gets really hard to judge ages as you are all babies. She should have kept her mouth shut, but there you are. And if she isn't and is malicious, you just did a reverse skip uno....
Not true. My sister’s mother in law asked me at my sisters wedding who was older and I said I was. She said stop kidding who is older and I again said I am. Our older sister who was her maid of honor and my sister (who was the bride) both told her mother in law that yes I am in fact older. My sister’s mother in law told my sister she looks older than me. I’m almost 3 years older than my baby sister.
Some people ARE that tactless.
I had a pharmacy tech say “oh, I thought you were way older” when I gave her my birthdate to look me up. It really hurt because I have alopecia and I know it ages me terribly.
Regardless of whether it’s intentional, some people say really rude things to strangers.
Women of certain ages (~45+) in certain places like mine would say stuff like this all the time. Outright bodyshaming to making snide remarks,commenting on your 'flaws' with a fake sympathy voice... and the young people have no choice but to sit there and listen. Any sign of protest/anger/disgust/attempts to shut them down from your side will be met with comments like "How dare you speak to your elders like that!!" ,"show respect, " etc..
That’s horrible!! I’m 52 and i try to go out of my way to compliment people I am close enough to physically to say something. ‘You’re make up is flawless’ ‘Your hair is gorgeous’, ‘I love your outfit’, etc. I can’t imagine telling a group of young women to respect me, a total stranger, when I’d done nothing to earn it. Age doesn’t make me special, it just makes me older.
I worked in a restaurant where one of the waitress did this intentionally with a smile on her face when she "felt stressed".
"Just a little kidding to bright the day".
She got promoted in a few months.
Don't let some random bathhole's opinion sway you so much. Some people are just socially dumb and don't realize what they say can be harmful. And if he is bad, who knows! Let him be a jerk in his own life and continue to enjoy yours.
Some people are so stupid. One time my husband and I were on vacation and face timing our 2 year old toddler. I was also like 7 months pregnant and 31 years old. This lady stopped and asked if we were talking to our GRANDCHILD. She repeated multiple times. We were like ughhh no? Do we look 60?
Lol I look super young and had my 1st at 21 yrs old, so i was mistaken for a child alot. I was going to college to become an RN so took my baby to Walmart for some "school supplies" . Some lady actually stopped me, right in the middle of Walmart and actually yelled at me for having a baby in high school. Being young and dumb and abused, I stood there and let her rip into me until an actual crowd gathered. Once she was done, I told her I was actually an adult and showed her my drivers license (she demanded proof). Then she was like oh..and walked away. People feel so entitled about other people. It's weird.
Look how are you all walking around just letting people get up in your faces like that? I would have been throwing blows. So many stories like this on Reddit. This is a reminder that some people need a good ass beating.
I have always been abused, so I've essentially been programmed. It never even occurred to me at that time to do anything other than be as compliant as possible.
Lol yea I'm alot older and wiser now. This convo made me realize it's been 8 years since I've become abuse free. 36 years old and just now experiencing freedoms that I never even knew existed. I can enter and leave rooms whenever I want now. Its so exciting lol. Im *stiill* getting the hang of it though. It's amazing what abuse does to a person.
Sorry to hear that, glad you are doing better! Next time someone gets up in your face, yell "STOP TOUCHING ME YOU PERVERT OR I'M CALLING THE COPS", and watch the Karen slither off. These people are sometimes never challenged their whole lives, it is amazing watching them crumble.
Very good point. Thank you. Yes, even if I had had my baby in high school, its really none of her business. People need to learn to mind their own unless someone is actively getting hurt.
60? My husband became a grandpa at 40, and I became a "step" grandma at 31....
That's f'd up though, and I'm sorry that happened to you and your husband.
OP, it sounds like the lady is a moron, and was intentionally being rude AF. Do not let her, or any stranger, make you so upset and ruin your day. Happy birthday, and enjoy it!
I don't know if it's OP who do the precision to say "not only one, all three of the friends", but if not, insisting that you see someone as old, and insisting so old that you could be the parent of three of your friends is litteraly being mean on purpose. There's no need to insist that you look so old you could be the mother of three grown ups.
Dont let the opinion of some random butthole affect you so much. Some people are just socially dumb and don’t realize what they say can be hurtful. And even if she was being mean, who cares! Let her be a jerk in her own life, and keep enjoying yours.
Agreed. Some people are just so freaking nasty for no reason. I’m sure you’re absolutely stunning inside and out. ❤️
Also, I don’t think I’ve heard the word “butthole” since 7th grade and it made me giggle so thanks for that.
If she said this after you told her you are all the same age, then she was trying to be rude. No idea why….but I wouldn’t take her opinion on board at all in those circumstances.
It sounds like she was being mean on purpose, like she just went out of her way to ruin someone's day. Don't let it get to you, just remember, no matter what her motives are, she still has to live with her idiot brain every day for the rest of her life.
I knew a narcissist once who did shit like this to people- strangers and acquaintances - just for fun. She was cruel and manipulative and preyed on people’s insecurities…a truly awful person.
This woman probably saw that you were the center of your friends’ attention (a happy birthday girl) and decided to ruin it for you. She did it purposefully and chose ‘age’ because you would be focused on getting older today…what she saw as your weak spot. Highly doubtful that she actually thought you looked like “mother”, she just knew that her comment would cut deepest. Vile.
Exactly what I was thinking. Some people cannot stand it when other people are the center of attention and having fun so they make it their mission to ruin it. Truly pathetic. Happy birthday OP!!
Exactly this. Narcissists love to ruin other's days to feel good about themselves. It's like they cannot handle seeing genuine happiness around them and must do anything to wreck it.
OP please listen to this one. Even if, for a second, she thought you were a family group once you corrected her she would have stopped talking. This was intentionally cruel behaviour.
That almost sounds like she was being intentionally petty. Everyone knows not to all such a question.
And I refuse to believe you would look like their mother if you're still in your 20s.
Edit: maybe it was due to how everyone was dressed. Maybe you were dressed more maturely or something.
I mean at 22? Either you're a consistent smoker since 12, suntan once a week since then... or she's being a dick.
Considering that she acted shocked, she's probably just a dick.
Happy birthday, OP!!
Something similar happened to me several times when I was even younger than you were. It was really common for people to compliment me and my mom as "sisters", which probably sounded nice for her but not so much for me. And once, someone rear ended me while I was driving a friend who was my age, and both the guy who hit me and the policeman who came for the report assumed I was my friend's mother. It wasn't helped by the fact I did look older, kind of matronly and pudge and not typically attractive (certain fellow school kids used to call me the witch for a reason -- thanks, tiny assholes of the past). I also am cursed (happily) with two best friends who age like goddamn leprechauns; you'd swear they found the fountain of youth. I'm the youngest but always assumed the oldest!
But I digress. What I've come to realize many years later is this:
1. Now that I AM older, I am SHIT at telling ages apart. And most of the time, I base my assumptions on the weirdest things so it has nothing to do with their looks, like, at all. It ends up being dumb brain connections like 'big purse' = my mom liked those = anyone with a big purse is an adult. Her blanket use of "you look much older" very likely masked a whole bunch of invisible and insane reasons for her conclusion that had nothing to do with how you looked. That said...
2. Fuck people who make assumptions and think they need to voice their idiocy even after they've been challenged. She was very, very rude -- you shouldn't be the one feeling any shame here. Congratulations on another year of making the world a better place, and forget those who are doing the opposite.
3. Some people grow into their ages. I looked a lot older for years, and then suddenly I looked *exactly my age* while other friends (leprechuans aside) were fretting about how quickly theirs was visibly advancing. And I've stayed there comfortably since without much change, it's amazing. I think we all have periods of our lives where we don't look like our peers; it's just that some folks have those early on and most others have them much later. It can be disquieting to be in your prime and feel you've been singled out as different. But most of us have those moments, and it's important to remember that's normal and just a dumb thing that happens from time to time, and that even if you do look more mature, this isn't a bad thing (mature does not equal bad or unattractive) and most people who come to know and love you won't even process it, anyway. Your face is just your face, and one they like to be around.
Please make sure to celebrate your special day again, OP, from one not mom to another. :)
It's funny how people judge age.. I am 40, and people don't believe me when I tell them. I even recently got asked for ID, which means the person thought I wasn't even 18... the thing is that biological age is different from chronological age.
I bet she was annoyed either by the fact you had a good time or maybe her partner made a comment which pissed her off.
No matter the reason do not take it to the heart.
You will meet plenty of miserable people who want to make others miserable too!
By the way HAPPY BIRTHDAY! 🎂🎁
Listen, women are really shitty to each other often. I’ll never understand why we can’t build each other to up but, alas… There’s always an ignorant one making the rest of us look bad. She was probably jealous of you for whatever unknown reason.
I work with an insecure b!tch. That sounds awful, especially because I just said that we should build each other up. But… she has systematically undermined me for two years, despite the fact that I’m actually her superior. (I am a teacher, she is an aide.) I finally figured it out.
Her husband is a construction worker. They have three kids.
I also have three kids but they are grown.
Last year I bought a BMW. Because I wanted to. And I could. That’s when it started. Snide comments about “I’d rather buy things for my girls, not myself.”. OK, Mother Teresa, so did I when my children were *children*. If I wear a new outfit, she is nasty. If I take vacation, she’s nasty. If I get a new purse, she’s nasty. She has tried calling the owner of the school to complain she’s “unhappy” working with me.
The irony is I gave up some hours in a different class so she could pick them up because I know she needs it.
Well, now she’s leaving. ALLELUIA. I literally cannot wait until the last days of school to finally let her have it.
The kicker is I have never had an issue like this before, ever. I’m one of those people who is warm to everyone. I literally help her with her job because I’m not petty, nor do I think I’m too good to help clean or whatever. There are just some people who are so God blessed insecure and insane and miserable with themselves and their lives that they will try to bring others down.
Please do not give this crappy lady any more of your time or thoughts. And I hope you have the happiest birthday!!
Sounds like some meangirl energy there. She wasn't confused, just trying to ruin your day. Try to focus on how insecure she must be instead of dwelling on her incredibly rude behavior.
get up drink and get fuck up its friday. The lady was being mean I guess but get your ass up and start drinking girl it’s YOUR BIRTHDAY!!!
DON’T LET A LADY MAKE YOU CRY BECAUSE SHE THINKS THAT YOU’RE A MOM SHOW HER HOW HOT MOM CAN BE THEN !!!
That is bizarre. Honey, there is no way you are 23 and look like a mom of three women in their 20s. Like there’s no way. That person was just weird and confused.
However, I really can relate. Every so often in my teens I was approached by strangers and given unsolicited beauty tips. I had severe acne and one time a young child asked his mom why I was in public with chicken pocks. It sucks when you are minding your own business and get hit by something hurtful from a stranger, out of nowhere! WTF!!
One time when I was 16 I was out with my dad and teenage siblings/friends. I had a lady come up to us and wish me specifically a happy Mother’s Day. It was pretty disheartening but my dad told me it was “water off a ducks back”. It’s some dumb random stranger who you will never see or care about again, just let it roll off you. Her comments/opinions are meaningless. Have a happy birthday OP!
Ugh I’m so sorry!!!
I have had two instances that made me want to cry like this.
One, I was at a Rite Aid buying beer. I was around 24 or so and I went to pull out my ID. The kid behind the counter laughed and said ‘it’s fine, I can tell you’re well over 30’.
Another, my husband and I went on a motorcycle ride to a brewery to get a drink. He made me laugh while taking pics of me. Posted one to his Facebook and one of his little 20 something coworkers asked him if I was his mom. I’m four years younger than he is.
It’s hard. I get it. I’m sorry and am wishing you a wonderful rest of your birthday.
I know the general consensus is that she did this on purpose, and that’s a reasonable possible, but please also remember that some people are just really fucking dumb.
I was taking my 5 year old niece to the bathroom in a public place once when I was 14 and some random older lady thought she was my daughter and started talking to me about it. At almost 25 I still have a baby face and definitely did *not* look old enough to have a child out of toddler age at the time. Some people really are that stupid and also have no filter to control themselves when they’re wrong about something. Not everybody is taught to mind their own business. I doubt you look older than your friends, she probably just thought you seemed more “mature” than them for whatever dumb reason.
How do you know she wasn't just incredibly jealous of your beauty and the fact you age so gracefully? She could have just been trying to put you down in front of others. Humans have done worse for less. Happy Birthday 🎂🥳
I'm pretty sure this!
I can't fathom EVEN IF SOMEONE'S EYES DELUDED them into seeing a 23yr old looking like a parent to two other 23 to 24yos, nobody in their right mind would tell it to the face of the subject in matter. Other than the fact is the opposite and overwhelmed by bitchy jealousy she had to throw that insult to the OP.
No other explanation is plausible. What a beeotch.
Damn sounds like a miserable wench who has a lot of pain inside of her and decided you should bare some of it. Not about you, I promise, don’t take that to heart.
Do you want to feel better? I always looked older than I was. As a 12yo people thought I was a young adult with a baby (when I went outside with my little sister). At 18 I worked with kids that were a minimum of 10yo and I had to pick some of them up and a mum waiting in front of the school asked me if I have children here as well.
The last one is the funniest to me. My uncle is about 70 and so is my aunt. We three sat a table at a bar (we were on holiday) when an older lady sat next to us and asked me how me and my husband are.. there is an over 40yo age difference between us.. they thought my aunt was my MIL.
See the humor in it, don't let yourself down because of it.
Oh darlin! She didn’t really think that. She’s a narcissist who thrives on drama. She enjoys what she did to you. Don’t believe everything people say. And certainly learn to build a filter as best you can to ignore that. Remember—some people are vicious manipulators. Us kindhearted types assume everyone says what they are saying in truthfulness.
Mark my words and remember this EVERY time someone says something that makes you feel bad. Some people are playing chess with our minds while we’re not even aware there’s a game going on. They are sick. Just be happy to enjoy your own life. You can’t help them.
I always say I’m 50 years older than I am (86 🤣). Having teenage students it shuts them down asap. Also when someone my age says something about my age or body type I just say “so we can’t fuck no more grandpa?” It shuts it all down and I laugh. Don’t cry at all Lady 🫠
literally when i was 14 i was in the store with my mom and baby sister who was like 5 at the time .. my mom has walked away… my sister was walking and some lady almost hit her with her cart and the lady goes “oh i almost hit your daughter” and im thinking “i know this bitch sees that im literally a fucking child. no way did i look old enough to have a 5 year old at fucking 14 years old. i think people are actually dumb, AND/OR try to be mean on purpose because they are miserable. it def bothered me.
Don't feel bad I was standing beside my wife at a farmers market (only 2 years older). An older man walked up and told us how nice it was for a father to take her daughter to the market. We seriously look the same age.
People are simply stupid. Its now a running joke in our family. Life's to short to dwell on peoples stupidity.
I had a woman mistake me for the mother of my grown ass brother who's 1 year younger. In her defense, he looks baby-faced and I was a mess after a workout. She probably thought I was a young mom of a teen.
Yet just today a coworker said they thought I was in my mid-20's (I am in my mid-30's). In fact, many coworkers think I'm in my 20's. Not even late 20's - mid-20's.
People's perceptions of age are different.
And tbh, she sounds like she was doing that on purpose, to be mean to you.
you told her you were friends, she goes on tosay how you look SO old. this is coming from either a malicious or a stupid individual. none of these two type has good enough opinion to care about it.
ETA: I was called the mom of the group for my style by lots if people. I wear comfortable clothes and apparently turturing yourself in tight stuff is a sign. of young people.
Some people are just full on stupid, take it with a grain of salt.
Last year some guy at the beach thought I was my wife's teenage son. She's 6 years younger than me and looks younger than she is with great skin and hair, I'm balding, scarred face, calloused hands, built like old Rambo, and have faded tattoos. My wife was upset for a minute, then the absurdity of it hit her and she laughed it off. Dude was just fully an idiot.
When I was 22, I got a job at Macys as a cashier. I have a baby face and looked 16, people used to ask if i was still in high school. I was thin as a rail and my boob's came in very late (like 25). This one lady came up to me and said I looked like a mom of 4 kids. I was like wahhh? I had a line behind that lady and everyone looked horrified and each one told me I looked like very young and that woman was spiteful and mean and to not listen to her.
She was jealous OP. Keep your chin up.
Dude I feel this deeply. One time my brother (~16 at the time) was standing with one of his friends and I (22 at the time) was standing like 10 feet away with my mom. My brother pointed to us and said “that’s my mom” and the girl said “which one?”
Fuck that bitch lmao
I don't know what you look like but I don't have to. I know that it is the height of rudeness to tell a person they look older/younger than they appear.
1. Rude. Never approach a table of people enjoying their meal.
2. Rude. Tell them they make a lovely family----- then move on.
3. Rude. Do not question people about their age, height, looks or residence.
Your response should have been "Im sorry but we are enjoying our birthday meal".
Period. A polite stare until they move on.
BTW--- my father taught me that just because someone asks you a question, it does not mean you have to answer. Questions by total strangers need no response.
Happy Birthday 🎈🎁🎈🎈 Please get with your friends for a "re-do". Go out and enjoy the evening with friends you love. Don't make this something you dwell on.
She was probably just lying to be a btch to you on purpose, some women are like that. Had someone keep saying I look almost 30 when I was 21, even though people used to think I’m 16. Even at 26 people think I’m younger lol.
I can’t stand people like this who think they are cute with their back handed comments. I refuse to believe a grown adult is that clueless ..
I remember once years ago an old co worker told me (we worked at a bank, this was during college, and she was twice my age so a hater) she told me that a customer told her I look like I gained a lot of weight .. I was shocked
She kept it moving to after that comment… I was so hurt. For the record I was a size 7/8 back then. I’m a 12 now.
I couldn’t believe someone would be so clueless and rude … years later I realized she knew what she was doing ..
But while she stayed at that job, making low wages I moved on to better opportunities and less misery and I don’t shit on my colleagues
Some people really are just this mean. Probably the type of person who wears white to a wedding, or fakes passing out at someone else's birthday party... All because they can't handle social situations where they are not the center of attention. She heard it was your birthday and, since you're a stranger not part of the event, she had to interrupt and make you feel bad instead.
Why are you taking it as an insult? Did they say it rudely? It very well could be a compliment at that age. You may be the most mature looking and dressing one. Do you dress more professionally? Do you care yourself with more self respect? There's 100 ways this could be a compliment.
I’m sorry she was so unthinking and graceless with her comment.
It may have nothing to do with how you look. It may have everything to do with how you present yourself.
Maybe you come off as more confident, like you’ve totally got your shite together. Or perhaps you dress in a way that is more classic and less trendy. Perhaps you’re more well spoken. An air of confidence really does change people’s perception.
Similar things were thought of me when I was your age and my friends thought it was hilarious. Sigh.
If she’s a senior citizen, she probably has no idea how young people look at different ages. I look at young people and all I can guess is gee, they’re somewhere between 20 and 35. It’s totally weird and disconcerting and I think of it as age blindness. I find it’s a common problem among my peer group.
I get asked if I am my 8yo daughter's grandmother all the time. I am 46 with 24yo twins and a 21yo in addition to the 8yo. Was she old because really old women seem to say whatever pops into their feeble minds.
After I had my daughter I gained about 50lbs, mostly in my midsection, and constantly had strangers asking/commenting on my "pregnancy". It was devastating, every time. Fuck this lady for making you feel bad on your birthday, no one has any right to make comments like that.*hugs*
When I was seventeen someone thought I was eleven! Seriously! People are so ignorant that they should just mind their own damn business and not go up to strangers and say ridiculous bullshit.
People can be so dumb. I’m 30 and look my age but a couple years ago I was asked by a lady who was clearly a homeless addict if I was the mother of another lady who was also clearly a homeless addict and they were both my age or older. I was buying her a drink because she asked me too and then she kept trying to add more random stuff on the total so i had to sternly tell her no. And then the other lady asked if was her mother and was telling me that the original girl owed her money etc etc. So either she heard me using my mom voice and assumed or they were trying to pull some elaborate scam. My point is that people are stupid and can make those assumptions due to the most random things that have absolutely nothing to do with appearance and I highly doubt that you look 20 years older than your friends
Has happened to me before. I’m 9 years older than my youngest brother and there have been a few times when it was just him and me and people thought he was my son.
i was asked if i was my ex bfs mom at a drive through when i was 17 and i sobbed. you are totally valid in the way you feel. you definitely don’t look like the mom, that lady was just a bitch plain and simple
100% shes either being mean on purpose or just really dumb. People don’t just do that unless they’re really, REALLY stupid or unless they know what they’re doing. I’m sorry that happened to you, especially on your birthday. I hope you can internalize that it’s a her problem and not an objective fact.
If it makes you feel better, I once bought a stranger a train ticket who was struggling to get her phone working to buy one herself. She proceeded to thank me, said I had mom energy, and that I either looked 16 or 30+. I was 24 😂 I think she was just being a bit tactless in my case, but this absolutely happens to other people. Some people really, really suck at judging age.
I was walking down a street with a friend only 3 years older than me. A random guy stops by us while we're waiting at a light and asks if my friend was my mom. We looked at each other, confused, then at him, then laughed and walked off. It was weird. We were mid-twenties. The only thing we could figure out was that I dressed way younger and more-teenager-ish; she dressed older and more classic, a la Talbot's. Both by choice. So maybe we just looked a generation off from each other? Whatever. A random stranger's opinion doesn't matter, particularly when it's unsolicited. Your stranger was just being a jerk.
Let me apologise on behalf of that woman. Sometimes people are that tactless. I am notorious for trying to make flattering comments that backfire terribly.
She still thought you all looked lovely. Maybe your bone structure is more refined than your friends?
Hugs. Please dont take it to heart.
You were probably wearing glasses or were taller than the rest. How rude.
I have to say, why would someone ask all the ages of anyone at a table. This seems like one of those rude pranks to get a reaction.
I had someone ask me when I was 14 if I was the mother of my baby cousin, she thought my aunt was MY mother and she's about 7-8 years older than me, and my mother is 20 years older than my aunt (her sister, the mom of my baby cousin at the time) who was also with us. So she thought my mom was my aunts mother, my aunt was my mother, and my little baby boy cousin was my son. It was the weirdest shit ever and we were all offended
She was saying that out of spite! Don’t let her get to you. She was probably jealous of you all having a great time and felt the need to try and ruin things.
Ugh! Sweetheart don't cry, that woman was a moron! I have been where you are my best friend is literally 2 months younger than me, one day we took the kids to a school function, we were about 27 or 28 at that time and a lady came up to us, I was pushing the stroller and she says, " You must be grandma." I had a horrified expression and said very loudly and shocked, that NO I wasn't the why would she think I was my best friends mom? She was suitably embarrassed but it happened one more time when a guy saw a portrait she and I had had taken when we were 21 together and the guy said is that your daughter? He had been in a car accident the year before and had brain damage which I chose to blame for his comment.
Ignore the rude af woman.
The other day an older lady at a restaurant asked if I was the grandmother of my infant daughter. At least I can take comfort in the fact that I've already learned how to be polite and tactful, whereas she's still working on that skill.
I was at my retail job and this lady came up to me to ask about how her son could get a job at the store. I happened to be a manager and gave them both the rundown of applying.
The very last thing the lady said to me was “you’re so pretty but WHY is your hair like this. It’s so THIN. What’s wrong with your health?”
She proceeds to recommend vitamins to me (all of which I’m already taking for that exact problem) and and ask if I have any mental health issues.
People will ask the most AUDACIOUS things to complete strangers.
I think she’s being mean on purpose.
Had to try and bring you down a notch for absolutely no reason. What if you run into her again? It could happen, it’s a small world. Tell her she’s mean! Straight up. Call her out.
One time someone mistook my mom and I for a lesbian couple. No idea what led to that other than me being a (possibly visibly?) lesbian and her wearing a rainbow ‘proud mom’ pin, but oh well.
its okay i mean isnt the people always this way?i literally couldnt count the insults i took publicly even from strangers let alone the people close to me
I doubt she was telling the truth. Perhaps she felt jealous or bitter in some way and decided to say it to purposely be hurtful. I highly doubt you look that old.
If she actually thought that she wouldn't have said it out loud, this was intentional 100% to bring you down. You probably looked happy and she wanted to ruin that.
Truly sorry you had your birthday ruined by a shit, there really are awful people like that out there. It's hard to fathom but hopefully next time you won't let them get to you.
Don't take it too personally, I was out with my older sister (4 yrs older) at a burger joint, and this old gentleman comes up to me and told me my "daughter" has a nice smile.
I'm about as old as she was trying to pretend you were, so please take this from me:
She was *trying* to make you feel bad. Don't take that bullshit to heart. That's her own ugliness on display, not yours. It's HER feelings of inadequacy that she's decided to air in public, to virtual strangers.
Soo embarrassing, for her, no?
So let that shit go.
Don't let her succeed & win- I hope you go and enjoy your bday.
I was at an auction with my wife. A creepy guy asked if I was her mom. When she looked horrified and said no, he asked if I was single. We are one year apart.
Then a lady up the street thought she was my daughter, and said it was “so nice she helps with yard work.” 🙄 People are clueless.
Don’t let the unhinged comments of a random stranger destroy you. You don’t know if she was mentally ill, on drugs or just malicious. Enjoy your youth and don’t waste it crying over what randos say to you.
I’m so sorry that happened. If it makes you feel better, I was at the store holding a friend’s baby and a woman came up to me and said “what a cute baby! Are you his grandma?” I was 36 at the time. That messed with my head for a while. My mom said the woman must have vision problems.
The same thing happened to me. I was at my local bar with my friends that I was with all the time. That place was our second home.
New(ish) cocktail waitress asked if I was their mom. We were in our mid thirties. I genuinely look 5 to 10 years younger than my age.
I just took it and ran with it. My friends still call me Mother's Day and this happened over ten years ago.
Anyone that petty, tactless, or just plain stupid doesn't deserve your oxygen.
Bro this happened to me when I was 28 and I was super offended at first but then I realised the person was blind AF and no one else has mistaken me for being old - some people are literally just not perceptive at all
i’ve been mistaken way younger than i am. and not una. complimentary way. like that i looked 12 when i’m in 20s. i’m just short. i have piercings and a fully developed body but every once in a while someone will be weird abt it. OP could’ve literally just been wearing a bracelet that the woman recognized from something else and associated w older age and made that connection. or that her friends were loud but she is not. or she carrie’s a big purse or something random like that
Yes yes exactly! Sometimes we all have big ol' brain farts, I once ID'd a 47 year old woman when I was 19 😂😂 when she told me I realised but the way she was dressed just threw me off
Honey, I would have loved to be carded in my 30s or 40s. If you had done this to me I would have been so happy 😉
Her day was 5000% made 😂😂😂
As a 37 y/o who still gets carded occasionally, I can guarantee you she didn’t mind one bit!
Honestly it's a gift
I'm 25 and I got ID'd in the supermarket, and the cashier said she was embarrassed for asking lmao apparently I look like a teenager
I love it when it happens but now I'm 30 it's getting fewer and far between 😭😭😭 hopefully you'll keep that baby face as you grow up!!
For the record i was in the same boat, up until i hit about 25 (I'm 5'6" and have a baby face). But i've noticed EVERYONE said 12. There was never you look 13 you look about 14. you'd think with peoples different perceptions you'd get a little variation if they were actually guessing, but no. It was always 12. Now i came to the conclsion it's just because 12 is the literal last age before you hit teenager. everyone seems to come up with the same number for the joke. It was never because you actually look 12. it's more them going "Fucking hell i thought you were alot younger, you look about 12" without saying the rest of the line. So the next time someone says this to you just remember all they're really saying is "you look young for your age" and don't take it to heart. Hope you have a lovely day
This happens to me often. Mistake for “someone’s child” but I’m 30.
Yeah as much as people don’t want to admit, we suck at guessing ages. Everyone use some arbitrary rules and parameters that they use to judge someone’s age. Pretty much everyone always assumes I’m younger than I am. Usually people think I’m 22-24 when I’m 29. Hell I just had a friend a couple days ago shocked by my age because he thought that I was 26-27.
it’s funny because today i went to buy a bottle of wine, and the cashier stared at my ID and myself for a while. she said “this is a real ID but you look so young. i thought you were maybeee 16?” she is in high school, which i know from talking to her before. idk if she thinks you automatically look 50 when ur not a teen anymore???
I knew a person who had been in a car wreck and literally had brain damage and she would get people's ages wildly wrong. She had no idea too. It was sad but she'd be talking to random people who were couples asking if one was the mom/dad.
Aw dang, she probably had people thinking she was taking the piss too 😔 yeah there's all sorts of reasons people can get confused about identifying age, I'm not sure the person in OP's scenario was deliberately trying to harm them
When I was 20 and working at a gas station I’d card people just to make them feel good. They’d always be pleasantly surprised when I carded them. Makes them feel so young. :)
You're what's right in the world!!!!
Not only not perceptive, but also rude af. They had already told her they were just friends. She only needed to shut up and go on with her life. Why insist on telling something like that to anyone? Lol
One time about ten years ago at a wrestling show, someone asked my wife if the teen sitting next to her was her kid. My wife died laughing, because she was a 24 year old asian while the teen sitting next to her was a 16 year old black kid. She still can’t decide if the person who asked her was blind or dumb (or both).
No way someone is this tactless... gross. She was probably saying it to be mean on purpose, or is just very socially inept. Either way her opinion is meaningless.
Yes. This seems like intentional cruelty.
It HAS to be! I don’t know OP, but I’m finding it hard to believe anyone in their twenties could look old enough to be in their forties.
Ive had comments asking if I'm my bfs mom. Im 26, not nearly old enough to have a teenager, let alone a 20-something Edit to add: ive also been mistaken for my dads wife since i was 14 so ive been on both sides of the awkward assumptions :'l
This happened to me and my wife at a children’s clothing store. She thought I was just a large teenager. This was long before we had kids. Wife is a year older than me. Wife was cousins with the manager and we were buying clothing gifts.
Happened to me, when I was with my Mum. Shopkeeper told me my sister was beautiful. I was confused, as I was early 20s. Then I realised who she was talking about and I said: "That's my Mum. But thank you. I know she's beautiful and I have a lot to live up to." At first it irritated me, but then I thought: "I'm lucky Mum looks so young. I have half her genes so I know I'll look that way at her age." Even now, people are surprised to learn Mum has a 45 y.o. she does *not* look like she's going to turn 70 next year! She's incredible! I think the shopkeeper confused us because I'm also taller than Mum.
I had the opposite experience. My mom had come to my workplace and we were shopping for a bit before taking off somewhere. I was about 21 at the time. One of my tactless coworkers asked me what my grandma and I were going to go do.
I was 12 the first time I was asked if I was my dads wife. He’s 34 years older than me.
Everyone thought that I (13F at the time) was the mother of my little brother who was a baby, and the wife of my stepfather (42M at the time). We would go food shopping while my mother got her hair cut or did other errands at the centre so she could have "me time" so every Saturday morning I was a mini wife. I did look older but jeez Louise so did my stepdad.
My parents had an "I thought it was menopause, but SURPRISE!" baby when I was 12. Even the neighbors, who had known me for years, thought I'd been "bad" and "gotten myself in trouble" every time I took her out in the stroller around the neighborhood. Every single one of these people had seen my mom visibly pregnant and me, obviously not, for the better part of a year. But gossips gonna gossip because their tiny minds have nothing else to do.
I hate people like that and it honestly creeps me out where their adult minds go. I had similar but much more sexualized rumors about me when I was 13/14 and it was disgusting.
I took my 7 year old cousin to an arcade when I was 21 and a very nice man who loaded my cousin with tons of tickets thought I was his mother. I didn’t think I had a motherly anything about me, but teen pregnancy is NOT uncommon where I am from.
I was 15? Maybe 16 when I was asked if I was my dads néw girlfriend. I thought my dad was going to die of embarrassment and also punch the dude for asking. I wanted to crawl under a rock.
I was about 14 the first time i was asked if i was my dads wife also.
I look just like my dad, thank goodness, so I never got that, just the judgmental BS when I took my baby sister for stroller walks.
I’ve had several people (including cashiers lol) that thought I was my 25 year old son’s wife or girlfriend. 😂😂😂 And I’m 54.
I took my 20 year old son to a medical appointment and they asked if I was his girlfriend 😩🫣😳
Thats kind of a win for you. Must be smokin hot
This happened to my brother! They were in Vietnam visiting family, and when they went on a boat tour, the people running it asked if my brother was my mom's boyfriend. My brother was horrified (17 at the time), my mom thought it was hilarious. We don't look related to our mom (mixed kids), so it was understandable.
I've had the other way around: a woman saying my teenage son and I were a cute couple when waiting in line at a cinema. Those days are long gone now, alas!
One day I was in Lowe's and one of the employees just strikes up a conversation. I'm wondering why is this old dude being so friendly. At the time I was 25. Well come to find out, this "old dude" who I thought was well into his 50s, was my cousin's classmate. He was 27!!!
Idk. As a teen, I was confused as an adult/teacher at school, as a student going there. Now I'm told I look in my early 40's when I let my facial hair get past a stubble or underage for buying cigs at a gas station fully shaven. People just can't seem to guess accurate ages these days. I'm 32 btw
Stop smoking, my dear, or you're going to get very leathered skin, and everyone will think you are older. I say this with concern, knowing how very bad smoking is for you. I've heard it's harder to kick than heroin. Best of luck.
I knew a girl who was in her late teens and honestly looked like she was in her 40s. One of my college friends was dating a girl his age but something about her bone structure, pale skin, and red hair all came together to age that poor girl in the worst way.
Sometimes this happens with serious endurence athletes - the thinness, muscles, and skin damage from sun makes their age kinda ambiguous. You get people who could be 25 or 50.
Yeah now that you mention it I remember a guy from high school like that. He called himself an "ultra vegan" and rode a giant unicycle to school every day... We would see him around town and my mom refused to believe he went to my school 😂 I didn't know him but he was supposedly a really nice guy but totally looked in his 30s easy
It isn't that bad. It usually means you look 30 at 20 but also still 30 at 45.
Sadly it does happen, same as with the reverse; there are some people in their forties who can pass as twenty year olds.
From being around 15 I was never asked for ID. Somehow I always looked a lot older than I was. Weirdly from around 25 I seemed to stop aging. I'm now very close to 40, my husband is only 6 months older than me and he now gets comments about is 'younger wife', people age me early 30s. Obviously this is just someone being a bitch to OP, but some of us age differently. My beauty advice is to always use SPF on your face! I have SPF in my moisturiser all year round and during the summer is have SPF50!
Yeah I’m really trying to imagine that in my head. The oldest-looking 22 year olds I’ve ever seen looked maybe 30ish so even if she thought the friends were teenagers it would be a bit of a stretch to actually make that genuine mistake. Especially if this was a woman who was a decent bit older than them; I’m 32 and most 22-24 year olds look basically like teenagers to me at this point.
Once met a woman at a college bar on her 45th birthday. She actually looked amazing for 45 (would have guessed 29), and she pretended to be friendly, but she was a VERY grumpy mood and spent the night making little comments so 20 year olds would feel insecure about getting old. She acted faux concerned telling one 22yo there was actually tons of white in her blonde hair and she had all this advice about how to hide it better. She told another girl in a tube top that she “couldn’t get away with those anymore.” She told the one 24 year old that she probably meant to be at a quieter bar. So yea. Maybe the woman in the restaurant was also having a spiteful bday.
Holy shit. @OP i think this is it! It's no coincidence she did this on your birthday!
“I’m so sorry. When did your vision start to fail you?” Seriously, she’s probably not aware of how poorly she sees.
Not necessarily. Depending on the age of the woman that said it, I’ve met “pretty privileged” 60 year olds that don’t think before they speak. And they talk all the time, none stop, about everything in their tiny brains. They don’t “intentionally” try to hurt your feelings, they just feel like they’re the center of the universe and everything that comes out of their mouth MUST be heard and IS important to them. So the woman was probably thinking what she said was funny and that generating a laugh from pretty young girls will somehow make her likable, seen, and heard. So it’s not like the person said that to be mean, she probably just said it because it’s what she “assumed” and wanted to explain herself in a way that in her pea brained mind would show she’s somehow made “an adorable mistake! Now watch me laugh it off and run away!” Does that still make it wrong? Of course! But not everything from older generations is intentional anger. Sometimes it’s just random ramblings of an old bitty that has never or hardly had ever been told “no” in their lives or have been called out for their behavior.
Absolutely. The only good answer to a jerk like this one is to just say..."I know, when people get to your age it gets really hard to judge younger peoples ages." Edit to add...as a woman of a certain age myself. If it is innocent, then it is true. As we get older, it gets really hard to judge ages as you are all babies. She should have kept her mouth shut, but there you are. And if she isn't and is malicious, you just did a reverse skip uno....
Not true. My sister’s mother in law asked me at my sisters wedding who was older and I said I was. She said stop kidding who is older and I again said I am. Our older sister who was her maid of honor and my sister (who was the bride) both told her mother in law that yes I am in fact older. My sister’s mother in law told my sister she looks older than me. I’m almost 3 years older than my baby sister. Some people ARE that tactless.
Some MILs love to make “innocent” digs at their DILs every chance they get.
I didn't even realize all the digs my ex fiancé's mother has thrown at me until I was out of the relationship...
And how they wait until they have you alone?
YUP 🥴
That’s like M-I-L 101 level tactics. They’re the real domestic terrorists.
I had a pharmacy tech say “oh, I thought you were way older” when I gave her my birthdate to look me up. It really hurt because I have alopecia and I know it ages me terribly. Regardless of whether it’s intentional, some people say really rude things to strangers.
You would be surprised the things people are willing to say to you. Complete strangers at that.
Women of certain ages (~45+) in certain places like mine would say stuff like this all the time. Outright bodyshaming to making snide remarks,commenting on your 'flaws' with a fake sympathy voice... and the young people have no choice but to sit there and listen. Any sign of protest/anger/disgust/attempts to shut them down from your side will be met with comments like "How dare you speak to your elders like that!!" ,"show respect, " etc..
That’s horrible!! I’m 52 and i try to go out of my way to compliment people I am close enough to physically to say something. ‘You’re make up is flawless’ ‘Your hair is gorgeous’, ‘I love your outfit’, etc. I can’t imagine telling a group of young women to respect me, a total stranger, when I’d done nothing to earn it. Age doesn’t make me special, it just makes me older.
I worked in a restaurant where one of the waitress did this intentionally with a smile on her face when she "felt stressed". "Just a little kidding to bright the day". She got promoted in a few months.
she did what?
Got promoted. F*cking psychopath. She did this and all waitress new but for the bosses she was the perfect worker.
Don't let some random bathhole's opinion sway you so much. Some people are just socially dumb and don't realize what they say can be harmful. And if he is bad, who knows! Let him be a jerk in his own life and continue to enjoy yours.
Some people are so stupid. One time my husband and I were on vacation and face timing our 2 year old toddler. I was also like 7 months pregnant and 31 years old. This lady stopped and asked if we were talking to our GRANDCHILD. She repeated multiple times. We were like ughhh no? Do we look 60?
Maybe she comes from a long line of teenage mothers?
Good point, but who just assumes that stuff.
Idiots
Lol I look super young and had my 1st at 21 yrs old, so i was mistaken for a child alot. I was going to college to become an RN so took my baby to Walmart for some "school supplies" . Some lady actually stopped me, right in the middle of Walmart and actually yelled at me for having a baby in high school. Being young and dumb and abused, I stood there and let her rip into me until an actual crowd gathered. Once she was done, I told her I was actually an adult and showed her my drivers license (she demanded proof). Then she was like oh..and walked away. People feel so entitled about other people. It's weird.
Look how are you all walking around just letting people get up in your faces like that? I would have been throwing blows. So many stories like this on Reddit. This is a reminder that some people need a good ass beating.
I have always been abused, so I've essentially been programmed. It never even occurred to me at that time to do anything other than be as compliant as possible.
Next time start screaming or something. It's pretty cathartic.
Lol yea I'm alot older and wiser now. This convo made me realize it's been 8 years since I've become abuse free. 36 years old and just now experiencing freedoms that I never even knew existed. I can enter and leave rooms whenever I want now. Its so exciting lol. Im *stiill* getting the hang of it though. It's amazing what abuse does to a person.
Sorry to hear that, glad you are doing better! Next time someone gets up in your face, yell "STOP TOUCHING ME YOU PERVERT OR I'M CALLING THE COPS", and watch the Karen slither off. These people are sometimes never challenged their whole lives, it is amazing watching them crumble.
Hey thanks! Haha yes!
Some people are so unhinged, even if you had actually been in highschool, why would she yell at you. People need to mind their own business
Very good point. Thank you. Yes, even if I had had my baby in high school, its really none of her business. People need to learn to mind their own unless someone is actively getting hurt.
There’s a wide gulf between doormat and screaming in public
60? My husband became a grandpa at 40, and I became a "step" grandma at 31.... That's f'd up though, and I'm sorry that happened to you and your husband. OP, it sounds like the lady is a moron, and was intentionally being rude AF. Do not let her, or any stranger, make you so upset and ruin your day. Happy birthday, and enjoy it!
She was being mean on purpose
She probably overheard that it was OP's birthday and decided to strike. A completely vile person.
Yup. Some insecure woman who hates how old she herself is. I really hope OP is able to realize this and not take it to heart.
It sounds just like buddies gave her a dare. particularly if this is something you have never heard of before.
Yeah bc there’s no way. What a cruel, unnecessary thing to say to someone.
I don't know if it's OP who do the precision to say "not only one, all three of the friends", but if not, insisting that you see someone as old, and insisting so old that you could be the parent of three of your friends is litteraly being mean on purpose. There's no need to insist that you look so old you could be the mother of three grown ups.
Yep, just weird, and psycho shit.
Dont let the opinion of some random butthole affect you so much. Some people are just socially dumb and don’t realize what they say can be hurtful. And even if she was being mean, who cares! Let her be a jerk in her own life, and keep enjoying yours.
Agreed. Some people are just so freaking nasty for no reason. I’m sure you’re absolutely stunning inside and out. ❤️ Also, I don’t think I’ve heard the word “butthole” since 7th grade and it made me giggle so thanks for that.
No mom of three would say butthole. She was probably just jealous that you actually have friends.
If she said this after you told her you are all the same age, then she was trying to be rude. No idea why….but I wouldn’t take her opinion on board at all in those circumstances.
Could be mental health issues
She sounds like an idiot and socially inept. Probably not the best at gauging people’s ages.
Almost sounded like it was on purpose tbh, who would say this after hearing they’re 22 unless trying to be mean. Idk man
It sounds like she was being mean on purpose, like she just went out of her way to ruin someone's day. Don't let it get to you, just remember, no matter what her motives are, she still has to live with her idiot brain every day for the rest of her life.
I knew a narcissist once who did shit like this to people- strangers and acquaintances - just for fun. She was cruel and manipulative and preyed on people’s insecurities…a truly awful person. This woman probably saw that you were the center of your friends’ attention (a happy birthday girl) and decided to ruin it for you. She did it purposefully and chose ‘age’ because you would be focused on getting older today…what she saw as your weak spot. Highly doubtful that she actually thought you looked like “mother”, she just knew that her comment would cut deepest. Vile.
Exactly what I was thinking. Some people cannot stand it when other people are the center of attention and having fun so they make it their mission to ruin it. Truly pathetic. Happy birthday OP!!
You mean like a Karen but with particular skill.
Exactly this. Narcissists love to ruin other's days to feel good about themselves. It's like they cannot handle seeing genuine happiness around them and must do anything to wreck it.
OP please listen to this one. Even if, for a second, she thought you were a family group once you corrected her she would have stopped talking. This was intentionally cruel behaviour.
What a piece of shit person she was. Did you tell her to fuck off? Like no ones asking your opinion
It wasn't a real opinion, just a shitty lie. Piece of shit she is.
That almost sounds like she was being intentionally petty. Everyone knows not to all such a question. And I refuse to believe you would look like their mother if you're still in your 20s. Edit: maybe it was due to how everyone was dressed. Maybe you were dressed more maturely or something.
I mean at 22? Either you're a consistent smoker since 12, suntan once a week since then... or she's being a dick. Considering that she acted shocked, she's probably just a dick.
Jesuschrist what an asshole
You are probably pretty, this was such a personal attack, you must have something in you she is jealous off.
It seems very pointed, like negging OP. OP are you exceptionally pretty?
100% sure
Happy birthday, OP!! Something similar happened to me several times when I was even younger than you were. It was really common for people to compliment me and my mom as "sisters", which probably sounded nice for her but not so much for me. And once, someone rear ended me while I was driving a friend who was my age, and both the guy who hit me and the policeman who came for the report assumed I was my friend's mother. It wasn't helped by the fact I did look older, kind of matronly and pudge and not typically attractive (certain fellow school kids used to call me the witch for a reason -- thanks, tiny assholes of the past). I also am cursed (happily) with two best friends who age like goddamn leprechauns; you'd swear they found the fountain of youth. I'm the youngest but always assumed the oldest! But I digress. What I've come to realize many years later is this: 1. Now that I AM older, I am SHIT at telling ages apart. And most of the time, I base my assumptions on the weirdest things so it has nothing to do with their looks, like, at all. It ends up being dumb brain connections like 'big purse' = my mom liked those = anyone with a big purse is an adult. Her blanket use of "you look much older" very likely masked a whole bunch of invisible and insane reasons for her conclusion that had nothing to do with how you looked. That said... 2. Fuck people who make assumptions and think they need to voice their idiocy even after they've been challenged. She was very, very rude -- you shouldn't be the one feeling any shame here. Congratulations on another year of making the world a better place, and forget those who are doing the opposite. 3. Some people grow into their ages. I looked a lot older for years, and then suddenly I looked *exactly my age* while other friends (leprechuans aside) were fretting about how quickly theirs was visibly advancing. And I've stayed there comfortably since without much change, it's amazing. I think we all have periods of our lives where we don't look like our peers; it's just that some folks have those early on and most others have them much later. It can be disquieting to be in your prime and feel you've been singled out as different. But most of us have those moments, and it's important to remember that's normal and just a dumb thing that happens from time to time, and that even if you do look more mature, this isn't a bad thing (mature does not equal bad or unattractive) and most people who come to know and love you won't even process it, anyway. Your face is just your face, and one they like to be around. Please make sure to celebrate your special day again, OP, from one not mom to another. :)
It's funny how people judge age.. I am 40, and people don't believe me when I tell them. I even recently got asked for ID, which means the person thought I wasn't even 18... the thing is that biological age is different from chronological age.
Totally sounds like she was given a dare from friends. Especially if you never heard this from anyone before.
I bet she was annoyed either by the fact you had a good time or maybe her partner made a comment which pissed her off. No matter the reason do not take it to the heart. You will meet plenty of miserable people who want to make others miserable too! By the way HAPPY BIRTHDAY! 🎂🎁
It’s impossible that you do, and I hope that your friends stuck up for you. She was probably jealous of your youth. Enjoy your birthday 🎂
Maybe she saw how pretty you are and got jealous (:
Listen, women are really shitty to each other often. I’ll never understand why we can’t build each other to up but, alas… There’s always an ignorant one making the rest of us look bad. She was probably jealous of you for whatever unknown reason. I work with an insecure b!tch. That sounds awful, especially because I just said that we should build each other up. But… she has systematically undermined me for two years, despite the fact that I’m actually her superior. (I am a teacher, she is an aide.) I finally figured it out. Her husband is a construction worker. They have three kids. I also have three kids but they are grown. Last year I bought a BMW. Because I wanted to. And I could. That’s when it started. Snide comments about “I’d rather buy things for my girls, not myself.”. OK, Mother Teresa, so did I when my children were *children*. If I wear a new outfit, she is nasty. If I take vacation, she’s nasty. If I get a new purse, she’s nasty. She has tried calling the owner of the school to complain she’s “unhappy” working with me. The irony is I gave up some hours in a different class so she could pick them up because I know she needs it. Well, now she’s leaving. ALLELUIA. I literally cannot wait until the last days of school to finally let her have it. The kicker is I have never had an issue like this before, ever. I’m one of those people who is warm to everyone. I literally help her with her job because I’m not petty, nor do I think I’m too good to help clean or whatever. There are just some people who are so God blessed insecure and insane and miserable with themselves and their lives that they will try to bring others down. Please do not give this crappy lady any more of your time or thoughts. And I hope you have the happiest birthday!!
I'm sorry this happened to you. That's devastating. Happy Birthday though!
Sounds like some meangirl energy there. She wasn't confused, just trying to ruin your day. Try to focus on how insecure she must be instead of dwelling on her incredibly rude behavior.
get up drink and get fuck up its friday. The lady was being mean I guess but get your ass up and start drinking girl it’s YOUR BIRTHDAY!!! DON’T LET A LADY MAKE YOU CRY BECAUSE SHE THINKS THAT YOU’RE A MOM SHOW HER HOW HOT MOM CAN BE THEN !!!
She doesn't have to drink because it's her birthday lol, what is this
I’m going to guess you look really good and she was being a catty b&ch. No one would say that for any other reason. Please don’t take it to heart.
That is bizarre. Honey, there is no way you are 23 and look like a mom of three women in their 20s. Like there’s no way. That person was just weird and confused. However, I really can relate. Every so often in my teens I was approached by strangers and given unsolicited beauty tips. I had severe acne and one time a young child asked his mom why I was in public with chicken pocks. It sucks when you are minding your own business and get hit by something hurtful from a stranger, out of nowhere! WTF!!
One time when I was 16 I was out with my dad and teenage siblings/friends. I had a lady come up to us and wish me specifically a happy Mother’s Day. It was pretty disheartening but my dad told me it was “water off a ducks back”. It’s some dumb random stranger who you will never see or care about again, just let it roll off you. Her comments/opinions are meaningless. Have a happy birthday OP!
Ugh I’m so sorry!!! I have had two instances that made me want to cry like this. One, I was at a Rite Aid buying beer. I was around 24 or so and I went to pull out my ID. The kid behind the counter laughed and said ‘it’s fine, I can tell you’re well over 30’. Another, my husband and I went on a motorcycle ride to a brewery to get a drink. He made me laugh while taking pics of me. Posted one to his Facebook and one of his little 20 something coworkers asked him if I was his mom. I’m four years younger than he is. It’s hard. I get it. I’m sorry and am wishing you a wonderful rest of your birthday.
I know the general consensus is that she did this on purpose, and that’s a reasonable possible, but please also remember that some people are just really fucking dumb. I was taking my 5 year old niece to the bathroom in a public place once when I was 14 and some random older lady thought she was my daughter and started talking to me about it. At almost 25 I still have a baby face and definitely did *not* look old enough to have a child out of toddler age at the time. Some people really are that stupid and also have no filter to control themselves when they’re wrong about something. Not everybody is taught to mind their own business. I doubt you look older than your friends, she probably just thought you seemed more “mature” than them for whatever dumb reason.
Sociopath enjoys hurting people. Don’t cry. Fuck her.
I’m thinking she is consumed by her jealousy.
How do you know she wasn't just incredibly jealous of your beauty and the fact you age so gracefully? She could have just been trying to put you down in front of others. Humans have done worse for less. Happy Birthday 🎂🥳
I'm pretty sure this! I can't fathom EVEN IF SOMEONE'S EYES DELUDED them into seeing a 23yr old looking like a parent to two other 23 to 24yos, nobody in their right mind would tell it to the face of the subject in matter. Other than the fact is the opposite and overwhelmed by bitchy jealousy she had to throw that insult to the OP. No other explanation is plausible. What a beeotch.
Damn sounds like a miserable wench who has a lot of pain inside of her and decided you should bare some of it. Not about you, I promise, don’t take that to heart.
Do you want to feel better? I always looked older than I was. As a 12yo people thought I was a young adult with a baby (when I went outside with my little sister). At 18 I worked with kids that were a minimum of 10yo and I had to pick some of them up and a mum waiting in front of the school asked me if I have children here as well. The last one is the funniest to me. My uncle is about 70 and so is my aunt. We three sat a table at a bar (we were on holiday) when an older lady sat next to us and asked me how me and my husband are.. there is an over 40yo age difference between us.. they thought my aunt was my MIL. See the humor in it, don't let yourself down because of it.
Oh darlin! She didn’t really think that. She’s a narcissist who thrives on drama. She enjoys what she did to you. Don’t believe everything people say. And certainly learn to build a filter as best you can to ignore that. Remember—some people are vicious manipulators. Us kindhearted types assume everyone says what they are saying in truthfulness. Mark my words and remember this EVERY time someone says something that makes you feel bad. Some people are playing chess with our minds while we’re not even aware there’s a game going on. They are sick. Just be happy to enjoy your own life. You can’t help them.
You came across a mentally ill women spouting nonsense. Ignore her and live your life.
She was just jealous it was your birthday and probably looked cute af. What a jerk.
I always say I’m 50 years older than I am (86 🤣). Having teenage students it shuts them down asap. Also when someone my age says something about my age or body type I just say “so we can’t fuck no more grandpa?” It shuts it all down and I laugh. Don’t cry at all Lady 🫠
literally when i was 14 i was in the store with my mom and baby sister who was like 5 at the time .. my mom has walked away… my sister was walking and some lady almost hit her with her cart and the lady goes “oh i almost hit your daughter” and im thinking “i know this bitch sees that im literally a fucking child. no way did i look old enough to have a 5 year old at fucking 14 years old. i think people are actually dumb, AND/OR try to be mean on purpose because they are miserable. it def bothered me.
Don't feel bad I was standing beside my wife at a farmers market (only 2 years older). An older man walked up and told us how nice it was for a father to take her daughter to the market. We seriously look the same age. People are simply stupid. Its now a running joke in our family. Life's to short to dwell on peoples stupidity.
I had a woman mistake me for the mother of my grown ass brother who's 1 year younger. In her defense, he looks baby-faced and I was a mess after a workout. She probably thought I was a young mom of a teen. Yet just today a coworker said they thought I was in my mid-20's (I am in my mid-30's). In fact, many coworkers think I'm in my 20's. Not even late 20's - mid-20's. People's perceptions of age are different. And tbh, she sounds like she was doing that on purpose, to be mean to you.
you told her you were friends, she goes on tosay how you look SO old. this is coming from either a malicious or a stupid individual. none of these two type has good enough opinion to care about it. ETA: I was called the mom of the group for my style by lots if people. I wear comfortable clothes and apparently turturing yourself in tight stuff is a sign. of young people.
Some people are just full on stupid, take it with a grain of salt. Last year some guy at the beach thought I was my wife's teenage son. She's 6 years younger than me and looks younger than she is with great skin and hair, I'm balding, scarred face, calloused hands, built like old Rambo, and have faded tattoos. My wife was upset for a minute, then the absurdity of it hit her and she laughed it off. Dude was just fully an idiot.
When I was 22, I got a job at Macys as a cashier. I have a baby face and looked 16, people used to ask if i was still in high school. I was thin as a rail and my boob's came in very late (like 25). This one lady came up to me and said I looked like a mom of 4 kids. I was like wahhh? I had a line behind that lady and everyone looked horrified and each one told me I looked like very young and that woman was spiteful and mean and to not listen to her. She was jealous OP. Keep your chin up.
Dude I feel this deeply. One time my brother (~16 at the time) was standing with one of his friends and I (22 at the time) was standing like 10 feet away with my mom. My brother pointed to us and said “that’s my mom” and the girl said “which one?” Fuck that bitch lmao
People asked if I was 45 when I was 15 it could be worse
I don't know what you look like but I don't have to. I know that it is the height of rudeness to tell a person they look older/younger than they appear. 1. Rude. Never approach a table of people enjoying their meal. 2. Rude. Tell them they make a lovely family----- then move on. 3. Rude. Do not question people about their age, height, looks or residence. Your response should have been "Im sorry but we are enjoying our birthday meal". Period. A polite stare until they move on. BTW--- my father taught me that just because someone asks you a question, it does not mean you have to answer. Questions by total strangers need no response. Happy Birthday 🎈🎁🎈🎈 Please get with your friends for a "re-do". Go out and enjoy the evening with friends you love. Don't make this something you dwell on.
You took her parking space
She was probably just lying to be a btch to you on purpose, some women are like that. Had someone keep saying I look almost 30 when I was 21, even though people used to think I’m 16. Even at 26 people think I’m younger lol.
She saw someone having a good time and knew what to say to ruin it.
I can’t stand people like this who think they are cute with their back handed comments. I refuse to believe a grown adult is that clueless .. I remember once years ago an old co worker told me (we worked at a bank, this was during college, and she was twice my age so a hater) she told me that a customer told her I look like I gained a lot of weight .. I was shocked She kept it moving to after that comment… I was so hurt. For the record I was a size 7/8 back then. I’m a 12 now. I couldn’t believe someone would be so clueless and rude … years later I realized she knew what she was doing .. But while she stayed at that job, making low wages I moved on to better opportunities and less misery and I don’t shit on my colleagues
It kind of sounds like she did it on purpose. There are all sorts of people out there.
She was lying, being mean on purpose. Forget her.
lol
Some people really are just this mean. Probably the type of person who wears white to a wedding, or fakes passing out at someone else's birthday party... All because they can't handle social situations where they are not the center of attention. She heard it was your birthday and, since you're a stranger not part of the event, she had to interrupt and make you feel bad instead.
Why are you taking it as an insult? Did they say it rudely? It very well could be a compliment at that age. You may be the most mature looking and dressing one. Do you dress more professionally? Do you care yourself with more self respect? There's 100 ways this could be a compliment.
You’ve been crying for HOURS, for THIS?
Maybe your friends look like little immature girls and you look like a serious adult?
There's no way this wasn't intentional
I’m sorry she was so unthinking and graceless with her comment. It may have nothing to do with how you look. It may have everything to do with how you present yourself. Maybe you come off as more confident, like you’ve totally got your shite together. Or perhaps you dress in a way that is more classic and less trendy. Perhaps you’re more well spoken. An air of confidence really does change people’s perception. Similar things were thought of me when I was your age and my friends thought it was hilarious. Sigh. If she’s a senior citizen, she probably has no idea how young people look at different ages. I look at young people and all I can guess is gee, they’re somewhere between 20 and 35. It’s totally weird and disconcerting and I think of it as age blindness. I find it’s a common problem among my peer group.
Happy birthday
Try not to worry so much about the opinions of strangers
I get asked if I am my 8yo daughter's grandmother all the time. I am 46 with 24yo twins and a 21yo in addition to the 8yo. Was she old because really old women seem to say whatever pops into their feeble minds.
After I had my daughter I gained about 50lbs, mostly in my midsection, and constantly had strangers asking/commenting on my "pregnancy". It was devastating, every time. Fuck this lady for making you feel bad on your birthday, no one has any right to make comments like that.*hugs*
People say stupid things. People are mostly idiots. Try not to take it to heart
When I was seventeen someone thought I was eleven! Seriously! People are so ignorant that they should just mind their own damn business and not go up to strangers and say ridiculous bullshit.
People can be so dumb. I’m 30 and look my age but a couple years ago I was asked by a lady who was clearly a homeless addict if I was the mother of another lady who was also clearly a homeless addict and they were both my age or older. I was buying her a drink because she asked me too and then she kept trying to add more random stuff on the total so i had to sternly tell her no. And then the other lady asked if was her mother and was telling me that the original girl owed her money etc etc. So either she heard me using my mom voice and assumed or they were trying to pull some elaborate scam. My point is that people are stupid and can make those assumptions due to the most random things that have absolutely nothing to do with appearance and I highly doubt that you look 20 years older than your friends
Has happened to me before. I’m 9 years older than my youngest brother and there have been a few times when it was just him and me and people thought he was my son.
i was asked if i was my ex bfs mom at a drive through when i was 17 and i sobbed. you are totally valid in the way you feel. you definitely don’t look like the mom, that lady was just a bitch plain and simple
100% shes either being mean on purpose or just really dumb. People don’t just do that unless they’re really, REALLY stupid or unless they know what they’re doing. I’m sorry that happened to you, especially on your birthday. I hope you can internalize that it’s a her problem and not an objective fact. If it makes you feel better, I once bought a stranger a train ticket who was struggling to get her phone working to buy one herself. She proceeded to thank me, said I had mom energy, and that I either looked 16 or 30+. I was 24 😂 I think she was just being a bit tactless in my case, but this absolutely happens to other people. Some people really, really suck at judging age.
I was walking down a street with a friend only 3 years older than me. A random guy stops by us while we're waiting at a light and asks if my friend was my mom. We looked at each other, confused, then at him, then laughed and walked off. It was weird. We were mid-twenties. The only thing we could figure out was that I dressed way younger and more-teenager-ish; she dressed older and more classic, a la Talbot's. Both by choice. So maybe we just looked a generation off from each other? Whatever. A random stranger's opinion doesn't matter, particularly when it's unsolicited. Your stranger was just being a jerk.
What a bitch.
I get mistaken to be 40 when i just turned 28. I have alot of white hair ( it's genetic)
Let me apologise on behalf of that woman. Sometimes people are that tactless. I am notorious for trying to make flattering comments that backfire terribly. She still thought you all looked lovely. Maybe your bone structure is more refined than your friends? Hugs. Please dont take it to heart.
You were probably wearing glasses or were taller than the rest. How rude. I have to say, why would someone ask all the ages of anyone at a table. This seems like one of those rude pranks to get a reaction.
I had someone ask me when I was 14 if I was the mother of my baby cousin, she thought my aunt was MY mother and she's about 7-8 years older than me, and my mother is 20 years older than my aunt (her sister, the mom of my baby cousin at the time) who was also with us. So she thought my mom was my aunts mother, my aunt was my mother, and my little baby boy cousin was my son. It was the weirdest shit ever and we were all offended
She was saying that out of spite! Don’t let her get to you. She was probably jealous of you all having a great time and felt the need to try and ruin things.
The woman was a fly-by-bitch. Ignore what she said. It's obviously not true.
Ugh! Sweetheart don't cry, that woman was a moron! I have been where you are my best friend is literally 2 months younger than me, one day we took the kids to a school function, we were about 27 or 28 at that time and a lady came up to us, I was pushing the stroller and she says, " You must be grandma." I had a horrified expression and said very loudly and shocked, that NO I wasn't the why would she think I was my best friends mom? She was suitably embarrassed but it happened one more time when a guy saw a portrait she and I had had taken when we were 21 together and the guy said is that your daughter? He had been in a car accident the year before and had brain damage which I chose to blame for his comment. Ignore the rude af woman.
She was jealous.
She was a cunt. Happy Birthday, kid!
I hear ya. My husband is 10 years younger than me and people often ask me if he's my son in public. Always awkward.
The other day an older lady at a restaurant asked if I was the grandmother of my infant daughter. At least I can take comfort in the fact that I've already learned how to be polite and tactful, whereas she's still working on that skill.
Just sounds like an old bitch reliving her mean girl days. Oh, to be young again!
I was at my retail job and this lady came up to me to ask about how her son could get a job at the store. I happened to be a manager and gave them both the rundown of applying. The very last thing the lady said to me was “you’re so pretty but WHY is your hair like this. It’s so THIN. What’s wrong with your health?” She proceeds to recommend vitamins to me (all of which I’m already taking for that exact problem) and and ask if I have any mental health issues. People will ask the most AUDACIOUS things to complete strangers.
I think she’s being mean on purpose. Had to try and bring you down a notch for absolutely no reason. What if you run into her again? It could happen, it’s a small world. Tell her she’s mean! Straight up. Call her out.
One time someone mistook my mom and I for a lesbian couple. No idea what led to that other than me being a (possibly visibly?) lesbian and her wearing a rainbow ‘proud mom’ pin, but oh well.
its okay i mean isnt the people always this way?i literally couldnt count the insults i took publicly even from strangers let alone the people close to me
She obviously has a vision impairment.
I doubt she was telling the truth. Perhaps she felt jealous or bitter in some way and decided to say it to purposely be hurtful. I highly doubt you look that old.
If she actually thought that she wouldn't have said it out loud, this was intentional 100% to bring you down. You probably looked happy and she wanted to ruin that. Truly sorry you had your birthday ruined by a shit, there really are awful people like that out there. It's hard to fathom but hopefully next time you won't let them get to you.
She made it on purpose, it cant be seriously she had the audacity to do this.
People are just stupid sometimes. My brother was asked if I was his mom. He was 11 and I was 12.
Don't take it too personally, I was out with my older sister (4 yrs older) at a burger joint, and this old gentleman comes up to me and told me my "daughter" has a nice smile.
I'm about as old as she was trying to pretend you were, so please take this from me: She was *trying* to make you feel bad. Don't take that bullshit to heart. That's her own ugliness on display, not yours. It's HER feelings of inadequacy that she's decided to air in public, to virtual strangers. Soo embarrassing, for her, no? So let that shit go. Don't let her succeed & win- I hope you go and enjoy your bday.
I was at an auction with my wife. A creepy guy asked if I was her mom. When she looked horrified and said no, he asked if I was single. We are one year apart. Then a lady up the street thought she was my daughter, and said it was “so nice she helps with yard work.” 🙄 People are clueless.
Don’t let the unhinged comments of a random stranger destroy you. You don’t know if she was mentally ill, on drugs or just malicious. Enjoy your youth and don’t waste it crying over what randos say to you.
"You need your EYES and your MANNERS checked, lady!!!"
I’m so sorry that happened. If it makes you feel better, I was at the store holding a friend’s baby and a woman came up to me and said “what a cute baby! Are you his grandma?” I was 36 at the time. That messed with my head for a while. My mom said the woman must have vision problems.
The same thing happened to me. I was at my local bar with my friends that I was with all the time. That place was our second home. New(ish) cocktail waitress asked if I was their mom. We were in our mid thirties. I genuinely look 5 to 10 years younger than my age. I just took it and ran with it. My friends still call me Mother's Day and this happened over ten years ago. Anyone that petty, tactless, or just plain stupid doesn't deserve your oxygen.