My parents? Give me a break.

**BirdOfPray** · 01-13-2010, 12:56 AM

This afternoon I answered a knock at the door and it was some door-to-door solicitor. He told me he's in the neighborhood doing some tree trimming and thought he'd see if we needed any work done. Then he asked if my parents were home.

Um... possibly, but they live a good 20 miles north of here and probably won't pay you to trim my trees!

*sigh* I'm 24 years old, I've graduated from college, I've been married more than two years, I have a toddler, and I'm 20 weeks pregnant. I'm pretty sure I look old enough that it would be more logical to assume I'm the homeowner than the homeowner's deadbeat kid who lives with her parents and apparently doesn't go to school or have a job. I'm having a hard time deciding whether these guys are trying to be cute or are genuinely that clueless -- and yes, this has happened to me multiple times. What really gets me is that for most of my life I've been mistaken for being older than I am: I had to decline alcohol at restaurants and events since I was 16 or 17 (legal drinking age here is 21, and they're supposed to card anyone who looks younger than 25).

**Aeonflame** · 01-13-2010, 12:58 AM

Hey! take it as a compliment :D

**gabbyguppy** · 01-13-2010, 01:00 AM

Those were the days. I can only imagine what it would feel like should someone knock on my door and ask to speak to my parents. I'd probably kiss them!

Karen

**-Lp** · 01-13-2010, 01:34 AM

I echo Aeonflames' statement. Just wait 'til they call you ma'am.

**tetra** · 01-13-2010, 01:40 AM

hahahaha im sorry but i find that funny

**lobsternoob** · 01-13-2010, 01:41 AM

Well, the sad fact is many people are deadbeats that live with their parents, at the age of 24 and beyond... I know, I'm sort of one of them, although I pay my rent, work around the house, and do a lot of volunteer work that goes towards my education. I'm 26, I rent a studio apartment my mother owns on her property because otherwise I would have to move out of this state to afford a place to live. The cost of living in this town is insane. I don't have a steady job anymore, I do landscaping, hauling, grocery delivery for a bunch of older people, work at a LFS a bit and do private aquarium maintenance for some people. Honestly I do just about anything that pays, and is legal...

I've had this same thing happen, and a lot of people think I am older than I am too, I stopped getting regularly carded at around 16 (a very bad thing for a 16 year old!). I just turn down people like that because anything they can do I will do cheaper, probably better too. Anyway, don't be too insulted by it, they have no clue, and they just want to make a buck.

**BirdOfPray** · 01-13-2010, 02:27 AM

Originally Posted by gabbyguppy

Those were the days. I can only imagine what it would feel like should someone knock on my door and ask to speak to my parents. I'd probably kiss them!

Once one of the guys who asked if my parents were home apparently tried the same line on my neighbor. She's 40 and laughed in his face. Cute, but not really believable. And don't get me wrong -- she doesn't look 40, but she sure doesn't look 16, either.

I do get ma'am with some frequency, but down here in Texas that's just a way of life. I've always worked with kids at church, so I started getting used to "ma'am" when I was in high school.

**BirdOfPray** · 01-13-2010, 02:34 AM

Originally Posted by tetra

hahahaha im sorry but i find that funny

And yeah, I do have to admit it was funny. These guys are either clueless or total cheeseballs.

If I were going to be actually offended over anything, it would be his offer to trim my trees when they're in perfectly good condition. We have an excellent arborist and he was out earlier this year. Our trees look gorgeous, and shouldn't need trimming for another year or so unless we have some sort of nasty storm that tears them up.

We also had roofers coming by all spring and summer trying to tell me we needed a new roof due to an incredible hailstorm this spring. They'd tell me they'd been up on my neighbor's roof doing an estimate and could tell that mine had damage as well. I had trouble believing them, since a very reputable company had already replaced my roof, as well as my neighbors'. Hard to imagine my neighbors were getting estimates on replacing their new roof, or that my new roof showed damage obvious from the next house over.

**MCHRKiller** · 01-13-2010, 03:29 AM

Im a dead beat 24 year old that lives in my parents house

In my defence..lol, they have a 2nd house that they primarily reside in...I have essentially lived here alone since I was 16 and do pay for my own household expenses. I also am also working on my PhD and saving to buy my own house in the near future.

But I to would consider it a great compliment to have somebody confuse me with being younger than I am. It always makes my day to have a substitue teacher ask me for a hall pass at work. But then I have a fixation with never growing old, and becoming stagnant.

**BirdOfPray** · 01-13-2010, 01:21 PM

It's not so much that I don't think a 24 year old should ever live in their parents' home... but if I was living with my parents, I'd probably be at school or at work during the day, not just hanging around to answer the door to solicitors. ;)

In a few more years maybe I'll be flattered to be mistaken for being younger than I am... but at this point in life I'm kind of ready to be taken seriously as an adult, a parent, a homeowner, etc.