Can I talk to your mom?

Ok, I am 29 years old, 30 next month. Is it wrong to be annoyed when the phone rings and I answer only to hear an older gentleman ask if he can speak to my mother? I mean, how hard is it to respond to a "Hello?" with "Hi, May I speak to the woman of the house?" Or how about, "Hi, may I speak to the homeowner?" Nope. Instead we have the conversation go something like this:

Me: "Hello?"
Caller: "Hi, can I talk to your mom?"
Me: "Umm, this is the lady of the house."
Caller: "No way! You sound so young! (insert laughter here)"

This has been going on a LOT the past few years and it is ALWAYS the same two groups that do it - the firefighter's association and the police association. Grr. Do they really think they are going to get my money this way?

It was humoorous the first few times it happened. I laughed right along with them when I'd respond that I am the lady of the house and they would chuckle at how young I sound. Hey, I didn't choose my soprano voice, it was a gift. LOL After several years of this though, I am getting annoyed by it.

I was on complete bedrest during my pregnancy with Jacob (my oldest) and my mother came over to take care of me everyday while my husband went to work. One of the guys called and when I answered he asked to speak to my mother. I had a few too many of those calls in the weeks prior to that, so that time I handed the phone to my mother who politely told the guy that he had just spoken to the lady of the house. I could hear her say "Yes, I'm her mother, but she is on bedrest and I'm here taking care of her". LOL

There have been a couple of others that I have responded to them by saying, "Yes, you can speak to her if you hang up and call HER home instead of mine" or "Well, I'm sorry, but she is in her own home 15 minutes away from mine."

Today was a little different. The firefighter's association was who the call was from. This guy made no assumptions - he simply asked if he could talk to the lady of the house. Finally, someone wanting money with a little common sense! No, this man ruined the successful request by turning around and saying, "Wow! I thought maybe I was talking to one of the teenagers or something because you sound so young!" Oh well, better luck next time, sir. :)

I guess I should be grateful that they are all local. Otherwise I guess I'd get a lot of comments about my supposed accent (which I still don't notice) as well.