A little advice

I was looking after the sick baby sister of my students on Friday night. Her grandmother was called to come over for a while to make sure that if something happened she could take us to the hospital. I've met the grandmother twice before and if I didn't know that she wasn't like most grandmothers before, I do now.

We were trying to make conversation between her broken English and my French. Out of no where she started telling me that I will never be happy without a man(!) And in order for me to get a man I will have to lose weight(!!) Then I can start my life and have kids and will be content. I sat there stunned looking at her without knowing what to say. First of all, she just assumed that I don't have anyone in my life. Then she rambled on for an hour about what I should do in order to get thin. She told me to go upstairs and weigh myself and in a month she'd come back to weigh me again to make sure that I'm "on the right track".

I'm not exaggerating one bit when I tell you that she told me to take up smoking. And then she started to say something about going to prison would be good for me because there are never any fat people there...

I guess living in Asia had helped me to get used to random people's "advice" or thoughts on my weight. She told me that I have a beautiful and nice face that men would like. I didn't say anything to her. I can't help but feel sad for her, and probably thousands of other French women, who are obsessed with not only how they look, but how their granddaughters' English teacher looks!

If I really believed that starving myself, going to the gym everyday, getting botox and smoking would help me to look better, get a man and then BE HAPPY, I'd do it. I don't know what cloud of smoke she's living in, but I know that there is much more to life and contentment then looking good and having a man.

I have plenty of friends (of all shapes and sizes) that are married and happy (or not-so-happy) and friends who aren't married and are equally happy. One day I may get married, but if I don't I really don't believe that I'll be miserable like she wants to believe.

All of this advice came from a 60-something woman who lives alone and divorced when her daughter was 4 years old. *clears throat*