I am ‘The Invisible Woman’

I am ‘The Invisible Woman’

April 18, 2011, 10:42 am
Filed under: Uncategorized

I was just reading an article about country singer Vince Gill and his Christian singing counterpart, Amy Grant, who is now 50.  In the article, she mentions having a meltdown in the bathtub, as she looks at her post-four baby belly, about getting older.  She says “Women get invisible.”

‘Get invisible?’ I think.  Now this is something I can relate to.  However, being invisible started way before I ever hit 50!  I’ve been invisible for most of my life.

I started being invisible back when I was a child.  My homelife wasn’t exactly what you’d call “Ozzie and Harriet” style.  It was more like “Married With Children” gone over a cliff.  In this setting, you became invisible to stay out of the way, to not be noticed; you didn’t want to be seen. 

I had not idea that lifestyle would have on me.  Later in life I realized that I’d apparently learned how to be invisibile so well, that now other people couldn’t see me either.  I found that when  I was introduced to someone, I always had to be reintroduced to them each time we met because they never remembered having met me. 

To these people, each time I met them it was a new encounter.  I felt like they were the stars of  the movie ’50 First Dates’.  They had no idea who I was or that they’d ever met me before that moment. 

Here’s what I’m talking about.

Not long after starting to work for a foundation, I was introduced to one of our board members.  We had a nice interaction.  A few weeks later, I encountered her again.  She had no idea who I was and I had to be reintroduced.  Without exaggeration, I tell you that this same thing happened at least a dozen times over a of couple years. 

Finally one morning at a breakfast meeting she came up to me and introduced herself, saying she didn’t think we’d met.  It was the last straw.  I was tired of being invisible.  I told her that yes, we had met on numerous occasions.  Smiling, I pronounced my name very distinctly, shook her hand, took my seat and proceeded through the meeting.  The woman never had to be reintroduced to me again.

The more that happens, the more convinced you become of your invisibility.  I am a believer!

When my son was about eight, he and his seven year old cousin made a decision to become  Mad Scientists when they grew up!  They thought it would be great fun. 

We talked about what they might invent.  One of my suggestions was a ‘Cloaking Device’, much like what was used in the Star Wars films to make space ships invisible.  How fun that would be!  This device would allow us to slip in and out of places without anyone knowing we were there.  We’d use it for things like  jumping to the front of the line at the amusement park; to conceal our cars so we could go very fast and not get caught; take cookies and other treats just before supper.

Being already invisible, I didn’t really need a cloaking device; a good thing since my son and his cousin didn’t become mad scientists – or at least not yet.

I’ve told my husband many times about my invisibility.  He never believed me until one day, while visiting a local home store, the seeing eye of the automatic doors didn’t ‘see’ me and refused to open.  I approached and reapproached.  The ‘eye’ still didn’t open the doors.  Finally, Dan came up behind me; they ‘saw’ him and the doors opened.  I reminded him, yet again of my invisibility, which of course, he denied.

However, he is now truly convinced of my power to be invisible.  The big topper came this last week. 

I’ve been working at remodeling our downstairs hallway.  You need a lot of light and some old clothes – I’m pretty messy when I do this kind of work – to do this remodeling. 

I was standing on a chair, in bright light, in full view, with my back to the stairway.  I heard him come down the stairs behind me, saw him walk down the hallway into the kitchen.  Then I heard him say:  ‘Where are you?’

‘Where am I?’ I queried, disbelievingly, as he walked back into the hallway, stunned to see me standing in plain sight where he’d just walked past me. 

Don’t tell me I’m not invisible!  When the person I’m closest to on the planet can’t even see me – and believe me, I’m not that small – I have proof positivie that, yes, I truly am invisible.

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