May I suggest, dahling, wearing your insecurity like a cape? Put it behind you.

So, it's all about intent.

At least, that's what I kept telling myself.

She who takes offense when no offense is intended is a fool...(Brigham Young OR one of his fifty wives)

As usual, there I was...minding my own business...okay, actually, no...I wasn't. But, still...

My friend Katriel was pet-sitting so I decided to pop in quick to peek at her pig. My daughter, Sydney had had two guinea pigs growing up and I had developed an affection for the quirky little critters. I caught Katriel in the instructional phase as the family was providing her with poignant pig pointers. A young man in the group spotted me as I walked in and jumped up excitedly. Pointing at me, he yelled the word "incredible." Naturally, I blushed. 

Katriel frowned.  Jealous. 

I attempted to re-direct the room's attention to the more obvious star of the show, our wee whiskered rodent, but this young man would not be thwarted (and who could blame him? C'mon.). Again, I could only make out part of his message. "You look...incredible." Katriel was now shoulder-to-shoulder with me, standing perpendicular to me and my new admirer. She just has to have ALL the attention.

"Edna Mode," the teen-age boy spoke again to me, inexplicably lapsing into a foreign tongue. I curtsied.  Exasperated by my poor hearing and my horrendous gap of knowledge regarding any cartoon movie created after 2002, Katriel decided to interpret. "He says you look like Edna Mode from The Incredibles," she told me, ready to block my physical assault upon her well-meaning relative. I stood frozen, searching my mental files. I am a 4th grade teacher, after all. "Is that the tiny androgynous scientist?" I asked. "She's more of an engineer who designs superhero suits," my admirer corrected. Katriel now had a firm grip on my arm, gently passing me a guinea pig to use as a soothing fidget toy. 

I had given up trying to look like Jen Aniston. 

I was thrilled when I'd accidentally stumbled onto my signature look of bangs with an inverted bob. I fancied myself a distant relative of Uma Thurman. It was a welcomed relief from my Little Dutch Boy days. But this...?

Peering around Katriel as I stroked the rough fur of the now-purring pig, I took note of the utter delight of this young man. I had once been compared to Nanny McPhee by a student in a similar situation (sans pig) who had been devastated by my offense because he had meant it (in his weird little way) as a compliment. And in this case, as well, Katriel's cousin had also been complimentary in his quest to communicate. 

Further research into my cartoon caricature revealed that this situation could have been MUCH worse. Upon being reunited with Mr. Incredible in the movie, my pint-sized pairing was quoted as saying, "My God, you've gotten fat." 

I'll take "You look (like Edna Mode from The) incredible(s)!" any day.