Tuesday, October 2, 2012

Is it okay to ask? Or is it too late?


There is a park near my house that my daughter and I love to go to. The park is just the right size, I can see her from one spot, there are lots of communal toys in the sand box, and there is a set of monkey bars (my daughter's favourite playground apparatus).

We especially like to go, because we have a set of 'park friends'. Yep, my daughter has her own posse of little people, and I have a group of moms that I can talk to while the kids play.

Now here is my problem. There are a couple of moms that I see on a fairly regular basis; I know what they are going to have for dinner, I know what their kids like to eat, how fast their kids eat, their kids' extracurricular schedules, if people in the family are sick, heck, I even know about their kids' bowel movements (which is surprisingly quite a common topic of discussion for parents...).

HOWEVER, I have no clue what their names are, and I have known these women for years! I am pretty sure, at one point, we introduced ourselves, but at the time I was probably staring at my kid making sure she was not going to break something.

So how does one re-introduce oneself (I use to have dogs, and we had the exact same problem)? Is it too late to do it politely? Should I just keep my ears open and hopes someone else use their name? Or should I just suck it up and say 'look, I am so sorry, but I have no clue what your name is'?

And, my worst case scenario, which has happened more than once, occurs when my husband drops by. The group of us usually stand around and chat for a bit, and then everyone suddenly quiets down and stares at each other, waiting for me to make introductions. But I can't!! Because I do not know anyone's names.

I swear I am not being rude, I am just incredibly forgetful. Can I blame mental incompetence?

The only good thing I can think of... even if they think I am being rude ... they probably do not know my name either.

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