I almost told someone that they looked tired, then I remembered how hurt someone looked the last time I made that comment, 20 years ago at least, and so I asked them how they were doing instead.
The person in line behind me at the grocery store had only three items, so I let them cut ahead of me.
Someone I used to work with, and didn’t particularly like, lost his job. I almost laughed when I heard the news, but then I remembered that only a jerk laughs at someone else’s misfortune. Also, I too was unemployed at the time. So I said, “Boy, that sucks.” Because whether or not we are friends, we can agree that unemployment sucks.
I ran into a friend and noticed that she lost a lot of weight. I almost made a joke about Ozempic. Then I thought that maybe it could be cancer! And that it really wasn’t any of my business anyway, because I’m not her doctor or her dressmaker. So I told her that I was happy to see her, because I was.
I didn’t fill up on bread. I passed on dessert. I stopped at two drinks.
