The "F" Word

The lady who does my eyebrows called me fat.

Okay, that totally didn’t happen. Not exactly.

The lady who has been doing my eyebrows (I get them threaded)  for the longest had been on maternity leave, so I hadn’t seen her in several months. I walked in and she recognized me right away, even remembering my name. I thought that was pretty impressive. She did her thing and I was done in just a few minutes, as usual. We do the whole small talk thing and sometimes I can’t exactly understand what she’s saying due to her thick accent. I’ll be honest, sometimes I just smile and nod. I know she probably does the same and I’m cool with that.

On this particular day she said, “oh, you have put on some weight, yes?”. I smiled and nodded yes. Then said, “wait, what?!” She was smiling very brightly, as people often do when giving a genuine compliment and said, “you have put on some weight. Your face, it’s very full. You look good.”

*blink*

Did this bitch just call me fat? Her words and her face totally didn’t match. She was smiling as if she were very proud, but those words – those were nothing to be proud of! Now, of course I know I’m not fat. (Although I have definitely not been as committed to my work outs as I would like.) But I immediately went on the defensive. My response to her was some mumbling version of, “oh yeah, I probably have. Thank you.” The dude that was waiting his turn (yes, apparently dudes get their eyebrows threaded too) had an “OH SNAP!” look on his face.

I won’t lie. I was devestated when I left there. I called my hubby and he didn’t answer. I had to run some errands for work. So, I went to an office where I’ve developed a good friendship with some of the girls that work there (had to pick up something for my office) and relayed the story to these girls. They had the proper, “oh no she didn’t” response. And they let me complain about it, all the while telling me how great I look. Hubby had a similar response. (Which is what supportive people are supposed to do when you are acting completely irrationally.)

After a couple of days I could laugh about it. I know that eyebrow lady genuinely meant what she was saying as a compliment. It was in no way any type of insult. Of course, I was a little sensitive since I hadn’t worked out in some time, so I let it get to me. (I also have a new eyebrow lady.) I almost let simple words of another change the way I feel about myself. I determine my self worth. I create my own truth. No one else. Don’t let anyone else create yours! You smell what I’m cookin’?