Only as Old as You Think You Are

Or as old as someone else thinks you are?

I volunteer with Big Brothers Big Sisters as a volunteer in-school mentor. It's only once a week, less than an hour, and it's at my old high school. I walked with my student to the career center trailer today and made a comment about the campus. She said, "You went here?" (even though I'm pretty sure I told her that before . . . but she's a teenager, so she's probably not always listening!).

I said, "Yeah, a long time ago."

"When did you graduate?"

"1990," I said, realizing that was BEFORE SHE WAS BORN as I said it.

"Wow," she said, possibly the same thought occurring to her. "You don't look, like, that old. I thought you were, like, in your 20's."

I think I said, "That's good to hear."

Then we walked over to the guidance office, where the woman who was scheduling her appointment, looked at me and said, "Are you her mother?" Both of us kind of laughed, and my student emphatically said, No! The poor woman said, "I don't know. How was I supposed to know?" I explained who I was and showed her my volunteer ID badge.

So, I look younger than my age or old enough to have a teenager of my own, one or the other. Or both, I guess.