Day 100: People Fear Me

I do not make good first impressions, unless it's a job interview or speaking in public, and then for some reason, people seem to like me.

But as a general rule, in small settings, like say parties or oh, I don't know, WEDDING SHOWERS, I don't seem to make a good first impression.  People always say the exact same thing to me.  "I was so intimidated when I first met you . . . and then I got to know you."

I have worked on this trait, trust me.  I've tried to smile more, speak less precisely, keep my inane amount of superfluous knowledge to myself, avoid using words like superfluous, slouch; you name it, I've tried it.

But nothing seems to work.  People always tell me later that they were nervous and intimidated when they first met me.  So I wonder about the people who don't get a chance to know me better.  The ones who walk away with that "she's so intimidating" opinion of me and never see me again.  Those people will always think I'm intimidating.

Great.

Because today, at a wedding shower,  I am going to meet a whole SLEW of people who don't know me at all.  And the likelihood that they will think I am intimidating (which often comes across as "stuck-up" by the way) is high.  And I am a representation of the man that the bride is going to marry.  I am the (dun,dun,dun) Mother of the Groom.  Have I mentioned I'm not good in small settings?

So let's recount.
A.  I'm the mother of the groom.  No one knows me, pretty much, except the bride, and she's going to be busy.
B.  I come across as intimidating on first impressions.
C. People will measure up Zack based on my interaction with them and determine just what kind of family Zack was raised by and what kind of family Christina is marrying into.

Whew.  I need a paper bag.  To breathe in.  Maybe I'll stick it in my purse, just in case.

All that to say, the wedding is officially "on."  And I am the Mother of the Groom.  Smile.  Smile.  Smile. Smile.  People fear me.  Smile.  Smile.  Smile.