Mirror, Mirror on the Wall

For whatever reason, our massive house has only one mirror. It sits above a sink in our dining room. We have no clue how we are looking from the shoulders down. That’s fine. We don’t need a mirror to tell us that. We have our neighbors. 

My husband receives the most feedback. He recently pierced his ears in America at an off-brand Claires inside Walmart. Judging by all the rose gold and unicorns the store was designed for tween girls. He held the teddy bravely while I snapped a photo. He has long admired the gold that glitters from many men’s ears in the Himalayas. Not only sported by the young gangster types, it’s also common to see shepherds who look as old as the mountains wearing gold hoops. When Micah returned to Himachal excited to show off the bling dangling from his ear lobes, he got this response 100% of the time, “Oh, you got earrings! But why did you choose the lady ones?” 

Micah makes the mistake of asking sensitive questions, one being, “How old do you think I am?” A student of his, around his same age, guessed him to be in his fifties. Micah laughed good-naturedly and made some jokes about his balding head. The other person didn’t notice this kindness and went for the kill, “No, it is because of your face.” 

Last, but certainly not least. Our chicken delivery guy is a believer and has known us since we landed green and were hungrily looking for protein sources outside of the mighty lentil. Just last week, he parked his motorcycle outside our gate and pulled 2 kilos of chicken thighs from his backpack. Micah hadn’t seen him in some time and greeted him warmly. In return, he received this revelation, “Woah, man, your shoulders are looking good! Nice and big. And your belly! It is so large. I bet you have gained, what, 20-30 kilos?”