WHILE POLITELY MAKING small talk at a | regretting both my party dress and baby shower, my day was ruined in one fell swoop. "Ooh, are you expecting?!" asked a family friend, eyeballing my body up and down. I sheepishly shook my head, instantly my ample plate of mini-sandwiches. Then, just when I thought this conversation couldn't get worse, it did: "Well," she asked earnestly, "why not?"
Reasons and retorts flooded my mind-deep rooted doubts about my maternal capabilities, fear of climate change, "just fat, thanks" or perhaps a well chosen expletive. Instead, I murmured something about being busy at work and excused myself to mope for the rest of the afternoon.
I've since recovered emotionally, though I sometimes daydream of a do-over. What should I have said to such a nosy question from such a rude person? And how about all those other, um, challenging personalities we have to converse with whether we want to or not? Just in time for the holidays, I asked experts about how to deal with the trickiest, tackiest, meanest and most maddening personalities with nary a single insult hurled.
THE COMPLAINER
You know the type: This restaurant is too expensive, the music is too loud, my burger is overdone and I can hardly taste it anyhow because I'm probably coming down with something. As Saturday Night Live's famous Debbie Downer sketch goes: Whaa, whaaaaa. But the Complainer in real life isn't so funny.
"This is a person who thinks life's unfair to them," says Jody Carrington, a psychologist and author of Feeling Seen: Reconnecting in a Disconnected World. Nobody's that bummed out by a burger; they're down about other, bigger things and are letting it out on specific, controllable things like what's on their plate, not to mention the unfortunate server who dared to deliver it.
Denne historien er fra November 2023-utgaven av Reader's Digest US.
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Denne historien er fra November 2023-utgaven av Reader's Digest US.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
Election Day Memories - Stories about voting by the people, for the people
A Convincing Argument When my boyfriend and I were finally old enough to vote in our first presidential election, we spent months debating with one another about our chosen candidates. We were quite persuasive, as we discovered when we got home from the polls and learned that we'd both voted for the other's initial choice.―SHERRY FOX Appleton, WI
A New Way to Monitor Blood Sugar
Who can benefit from this wearable technology
A Flag for Dad
An old sailor made a last wish. His son was determined to see that it came true.
Sisterhood to Last a Lifetime
These college pals teach a master class in how to maintain a friendship for 50-plus years
...TO DIE ON A HOCKEY RINK
ONE MINUTE I WAS PLAYING IN MY BEER LEAGUE, THE NEXT I WAS IN THE HOSPITAL
Yes, There's a Museum for That!
These collections are wacky, wonderful and worth a visit
Town Meeting Is Called!
Once a year, the people of Elmore, Vermont, gather to practice a cherished right: democracy
Just Tight
Broken, battered and trapped in a ravine for days, a desperate driver wonders, \"Will anyone find me?\"
WHY OUR BODIES DON'T DIG DAYLIGHT SAVING TIME
Twice a year, when we spring ahead and fall back, we're more prone to sleepiness, depression and accidents
MONEYSAVING DO'S AND DON'TS
The run-up to the holidays doesn't have to bah-humbug your budget. A shopping expert shares strategies for saving big now and all year round.
