This Halloween, I’m Going as the Invisible Woman

Have you ever felt invisible?

I have. Often. More than I’d like.

Sometimes it’s at the grocery store, the mall, and even at church.

I see someone I know and start to approach them and then…

Nothing. It’s like they see right through me. They don’t know me at all.

This is doing nothing for my self-esteem.

At first I thought it was me. Maybe I had dis-prosopagnosia.

Prosopagnosia is a condition where you can’t recognize faces.

Maybe I have the opposite of that – I recognize every face as someone familiar…when really I’ve never met them before.

I see a person at a distance and they look so familiar. Surely, that’s Jane from the baseball field or Bill from church. But when I get closer they give me a look that says, why is that strange lady looking at me? Which is then followed by the look that says, why is that strange lady approaching me?

Or maybe I don’t have a condition at all. Maybe people are more self-absorbed or so busy these days that they don’t notice others (and by others I mean me). The problem clearly lies with them.

Today I was checking out at the grocery store. A woman walked up beside me with her teenage son. As I was sliding my credit card, I looked out the corner of my eye and I could tell I knew her.

What to do…

I could say hello – that’s the friendly thing to do.

I could ignore her – she might think I’m a snob.

I take the risk.

I turn and say, “Hey, it’s good to see you.”

She gives me that look (the one I am becoming all too familiar with) and then she gives me a hesitant, “Hey”.

Then her son turns to her and says, “Who’s that?”

And I hear her say, “I have no idea.”

Really! I am standing right here! I CAN HEAR YOU!

Is the world completely void of all manners? Even I would have pretended to know who I was.

You know what I mean.

Maybe I just need a pair of glasses.

Because I’m feeling depressed – a result of my deflated ego – tonight’s dessert will be what’s left of the Halloween candy that I bought way too early.

Rats! That means I have to go back to the grocery store!

Have you ever felt invisible? What’s your favorite Halloween candy? Leave a comment and let me know.