Thursday, October 8, 2009

I Will Never Feel Young Again

I was very young-looking for a long time. Come to think of it, that was probably when I was young. But, really, it felt like I was in my 20's for around 20 years.

But, alas, the fantasy had to end. I could no longer remain young-looking. Somewhere along the way, the gray hair started taking over. I used to say it looked like highlights. But I'm not fooling anyone. I am not fooling myself. I'm getting old. Half of my head is gray now, which I guess isn't immediately obvious since my hair is what is affectionately called "dishwater blonde." I used to think my skin was still so youthful. But I'm starting to notice that it's getting more baggy and a few more wrinkles have found their home. My daughter tells me I have a double chin. (I know I did not have that in my 20's!) People were often surprised that I was in my 30's, or that I had 4 kids, or that I had been married over a decade already. But now, I don't even get carded. I once told a cashier at Meijer that she would make my day if she asked to see my i.d. because I was buying alcohol. She took one look at me and said, in a very flat and uninterested voice, "No". (See if I ever get in her checkout lane again.)

Ahhh, Youth, where have you gone?

What prompted this reflection on aging, you may ask?

I stopped by my daughter's classroom today and one of her classmates asked me, "Are you Faith's grandma?"

I feel so violated.

I will never feel young again.
Posted by Jen at 2:24 PM

6 comments:

  1. cristin lueaOctober 9, 2009 at 12:30 AM

    I remember Barb Luea telling me that on the first day bringing Christopher to kindergarten, one boy asked him, "Is that your grandma?" Christopher replied, "No, that's my MOM and she doesn't DYE her hair!!" Young at heart, that's what counts :)

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  2. shortmamaOctober 9, 2009 at 1:12 AM

    I too am riddled with gray hair and have been since I was 17...this is why I dye my hair every month!

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  3. AnnieOctober 9, 2009 at 3:46 AM

    That just happened to me yesterday - someone asked Anastasia if I was her grandma! In this case I was able to snap back that THAT little girl's mother hadn't been OLD ENOUGH to have children! She really did appear to have had this child when she was about 16... So, I guess from that point of view, I could practically be Anastasia's great-grandma.

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  4. kimOctober 9, 2009 at 11:28 AM

    oh my! too funny. My husband is "old looking" and gets comments like that a lot. No one has said those much yet to me but I certainly FEEL old these days. What a horrible cashier!

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  5. Teresa @ Grammy GirlfriendOctober 10, 2009 at 12:00 AM

    That is too funny...Kids say the funniest things....

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  6. Jen @ tatertotsandjello.comOctober 12, 2009 at 10:38 PM

    You are adorable. I am sure you don't look like anybody's grandma. Although I was reading the obituaries the other day and there was a girl in there who was a year younger than me that died. She had 6 kids and 4 grandkids. I was like - "what???". So maybe that child has a grandma that got pregnant as a teenager and a mother who did the same... Don't let it get you down.

    I say - hallelujah for hair dye and wrinkle cream. You are cute!

    XOXO
    Jen

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