My husband and his foot in mouth syndrome

[candidrachel]

Cringworthy! My husband's hobby is motorbikes. Think along the lines of American Chopper and you're halfway there. Anyway, he knows a guy that does his welding for him and he has a little 5 year old disabled daughter who has Spina Bifida. We have a son with spencial needs too but not in a physical capacity so there is a little common ground there. This guy was fretting about how his daughter is settling into school. Here is the clanger: Hubby said:

"Oh, don't worry as they get older they get stronger and develop a backbone". (He meant it in a inner resilient way). They then finished the conversation and as I was coming out of the shower hubby was really beside himself with worry wishing he hadn't said that.

He was really biting his fist saying "Oh man why did I say that!!"

He phoned the guy back to aploogise but he just laughted and took it all in good stead and said "Yeah I knew what you meant all along".


I've lost count the number of times I've had to dig my husband out of the holes he's dug

[SusanH1970]

Oh, man....I have to admit I chuckled when I read that! I have a sister with both physical and mental handicaps so I've been there and have heard a lot of off-the-cuff comments, both unintentional and actually intentionally cruel. I just learned a long time ago to roll with it.

[RLucas]

Back when I actually used to go out and have fun, I was at a bar at the beach one night. We were sitting at one of those high four top style tables. I had my back turned to the pedestrian traffic, which is something I rarely do, when this guy elbowed me in the head with what seemed like all of his body weight. He did manage to squeek out an apology. I in return said, "That's alright, it was only my effing head!" My wife at the time turned to me and said, "Luke, he is blind". Talk about feeling 2 inches tall that night! That wasn't the first time or the last time I stuck my foot in it. I feel your husband's pain! lol!

[NicoleScraps]

Oh dear! I will admit, I too suffer from the same syndrome. I swear to goodness, I would never intentionally hurt another person's feelings, but it has happened anyways. Usually alcohol is involved.

[Henry Wilt]

Originally Posted by NicoleScraps

Oh dear! I will admit, I too suffer from the same syndrome. I swear to goodness, I would never intentionally hurt another person's feelings, but it has happened anyways. Usually alcohol is involved.

+1 only I don't need the alcohol, sometimes I just don't think about how something can sound if not taken the way I've meant it.
Fortunately these days, most of my embarrassing slips of the tongue are due to me speaking Thai and getting a word or tone (which changes the meaning of a word) wrong which most Thai's will forgive and laugh along with (or at) me.

[morgandavis]

I work with kids who have both physical and mental handicaps. And yes, we, as staff, often say things without thinking.

My favorite .. The teacher wrote a note home to the parents of a student she has had for about 5 years (the student is blind, among other things). The note: "Steve needs his bangs cut, he can't see." Whats worse? Mom agreed and cut the bangs!

[PnwGuy]

Probably my biggest I'm an idiot moment came about four years ago. It wasn't so much what I said, but what I did. I had an attorney client who worked from his home. He had three female staff members, one being African American.

The attorney decided to close shop and gave his staff some computer equipment. I was there helping out and the AA gal asked if I would take some stuff out to her car. I carried it outside and there were two cars parked on the street, an old four door beater and a nice newer whatever model it was. I stacked the equipment by the beater. She came out a couple of minutes later and popped open the trunk of the shiny newer car.

I immediately realized my very embarrasing assumption and nothing I could do. She didn't say anything but it was quite the humilliating experience for me as I had never ever considered myself racist or prejudiced but I definitely prejudged on that one.

[Jim Poor]

I did something similar. My wife and I were booking a trip home from Europe with an asian lady.

She asked: "Fliday?" To which, I replied, "No, Sunday." Then it dawned on me that she asked "FLY Day?" Ugh, I must have been rosy red!

[candleman]

i usedto work with a guy who has a son the same age as my oldest son, they were just at the walking/talking stage back then.

well, i kept asking him how his son was and if he was walking and what he was saying.. being a proud dad myself i knew how he flet.

anyway, 6 months later we were away on a work trip together, and over dinner i sked him how his son was doing and if he was walking yet.... because i noticed his sone was lagging behind a bit.

anyway, he said "You do know he has Cerebal Palsy don't you, he will probably never talk"

i didn't know....

[BexJarratt]

My husband's best foot in mouth moment was when he was on a long hot lift(elevator) ride on a training course in Germany, when he announced to his hosts "Cor, it's like a gas chamber in here!", expressing the uncomfortable temperature. Needless to say it felt like a much hotter, longer, more uncomfortable rest of the journey from then on!