It's all right! You can still trust me!

Yesterday a woman asked me where the train station was. I told her. It took a while to explain because she was more than a kilometre away and going completely the wrong direction.

She asked what street she was on. I told her. She insisted she was on another one. I explained how to get to the one she wanted. It took a while because she was more than a kilometre away and as I said going completely the wrong direction.

She asked whether I lived around there. I said a lived a kilometre in the opposite direction so she stopped listening to me and went up to someone else to ask them instead.

Now I was really miffed by this. People regularly cross streets to ask me directions. I've explained how to get to the most obscure places in the CBD to strangers with and without maps. If I don't know the precise answer I reassure people to go particular ways and then ask someone else. And not just here. On every holiday I've ever been on people have asked me where places are.I've always thought I must look like I know where I'm going even when I don't.

But yesterday I guess I didn't.

Yesterday I was pushing a pram and reading a story out loud to a little girl about going to the beach.

I knew parenthood would affect how people perceived me but this is getting silly now.