The first night my dad was in his assisted living center, I went to the dining room with him. There was a table with four places set, and only two occupants, both kind-looking old ladies. I asked if he could join them. “Well,” one of them explained as she gestured toward the empty chairs, “This one is for Mabel, and she’s in the hospital. And this one is for Sarah, and she’s eating in her room tonight. So, no.”

What?!

The other day, I picked my granddaughter up from school; she’s 8. She’s heavily into a fashion-design phase and spends all her time drawing. She was upset because a couple of the older girls told her that her drawings weren’t “realistic” and that the eyes were “too big.” We had a long talk about maintaining artistic visions, in spite of our critics.

So, no matter how young or old you are, it looks like the Mean Girls are there, waiting to undermine you.

You can’t always tell at first who they are – as you can see from my experience at assisted living. But, I think if you spot someone wearing this shirt, you can probably safely assume they are a Mean Girl.

And, who wants to sip champagne with a Mean Girl?

Portland, Oregon
photographed 6.12.2015