Skip to main content

Granny

We have new daycare workers this year.  The manager is a nice woman about my age.  She has two teenage sons.  In fact, we're secretly conspiring to make our children marry each other.  In a timely manner.

Then there is 23 year old Stacy, recently married, waiting for her husband to graduate from college, and thinking about babies.  I thought we shared a collegial relationship.  I thought wrong.

Last week she asked me how old I was.  I replied with the standard, "old" response.

"No, really.  How old are you?"

"I'll be 44 on Tuesday."

"That's not old!" she laughed. "That's only a year older than my MOM!"

Wow. That comment did not make me feel old at all.

Having a 4 year old gives me a false sense of youth. I like it. I'd accepted that I am at least the age of many of my students' parents. They have teenagers.

I also understood that,  in theory, many of my former high school classmates are legitimate grandparents.  In theory.

But I had just been compared to a colleague's mother. With that one remark, she pushed me squarely into the next generation.

I pulled a tissue from the inside of my flowered polyester sleeve to wipe the tears from my eyes - or it could have been sweat from my hot flashes.

Comments

  1. RiahliDecember 3, 2009 at 6:29 AM

    I was complaining about turning 31 this year to one of my very young daycare moms and she looked at me and with all seriousness said "you don't look old"....it was one of those, I think it was a compliment but that didn't make me feel any better, moments. :) ha, ha!

    ReplyDelete
  2. KadiDecember 3, 2009 at 7:44 AM

    You coworker was probably secretly hoping to be as hot as you are when she turns 44! She can only hope!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Kristina P.December 3, 2009 at 8:22 AM

    You seriously look 25. And I'll be 32 in May, with no kids. This gives me hope. :)

    And your comment on my blog made me laugh so hard!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Lisa Page RosenbergDecember 3, 2009 at 8:25 AM

    My son has a close friend named Mason.
    I am older than Mason's grandpa.
    Cool.

    ReplyDelete
  5. shortmamaDecember 3, 2009 at 9:09 AM

    I get mistaken for my moms sister instead of daughter all the time. The last time the lady says " I dont mean you look your moms age, I mean your mom looks your age." Im not sure thats better. I know my mom looks young but she doesnt look 30 so does that mean I look 40??

    ReplyDelete
  6. FoursonsDecember 3, 2009 at 10:03 AM

    Hahaha! My oldest BIL is the same as my mother and he was none to pleased when I pointed that out to him. But to be fair, there is 17 years between him and my hubby.

    ReplyDelete
  7. wendyDecember 3, 2009 at 1:09 PM

    Oh how I get it.

    Having a two-year-old (and my only child) at 41 puts me in the weird category. The 26-year-old new moms in my ward get big eyes when I fess up my age.

    When I voted, I took ds with me and the woman behind the desk asked if he was my grandson.

    Uh, hello.

    Can I get your cane? It's right over here by mine.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Maggie MayDecember 3, 2009 at 2:47 PM

    you ARE NOT OLD!!!!

    ReplyDelete
  9. AnnaDecember 3, 2009 at 9:15 PM

    You're like a fine wine-you get better as you age.

    Right?

    Please, please tell me I'm right.

    ReplyDelete
  10. June Freaking CleaverDecember 4, 2009 at 6:06 AM

    When my 19 year old daughter took The Boy and I to the pediatrician for his first checkup, the nurse wanted to know if it was grandma, mom and son...uh no - it's mom, daughter and son, thank you.

    And a blogger just commented that I made her feel young...at 52, I'm sure I make most bloggers think of their parents.

    ReplyDelete
  11. ChiefDecember 5, 2009 at 2:46 PM

    I love it! you just wait til she gets old and then you can jab it right back at her!

    ReplyDelete
  12. AnonymousDecember 7, 2009 at 8:10 PM

    I so want to see your flowed polyester shirt on Sunday.

    Yolanda

    ReplyDelete
  13. The MomDecember 8, 2009 at 1:57 PM

    I can't believe you have a 4 year old...

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

How To Be A Dedicated Neurotic

Going through old files from graduate school, I found an invaluable pamphlet. Be a Dedicated Neurotic Remember the Past. . . and Regret it. Abhor the Present. Dread the Future. 1. Become preoccupied with the body, and make a long list of symptoms. Make them sound very clinical and professional... 2. BLAME your boss, your spouse, your partner, your neighbor, your kid. THEY are responsible for your miseries. 3. Feel trapped. You couldn't possibly declare your own independence without hurting someone's feelings. 4. Overeat. Rationalize and eat! Eat an insulated wall around yourself. Diet for a few days and say it doesn't work for you. 5. Self-pity. No matter what, feel sorry for yourself. Agonize over things about which no one cares. 6. Don't ever try. That way nobody can really accuse you of failure. You can always say, "But I could have done it." 7. Stress how shy you are. Insist that the world must come to you. You're special. 8. Your agg...
11 comments
Read more

Pioneer Trek

Utah was founded by the Mormon pioneers in 1847 after enduring unimaginable losses and seeking a place of peace. July 24th marks the anniversary that the first wagon trains arrived in the Salt Lake Valley. Their numbers were greatly diminished by crossing the country in wagons and handcarts, dying of scurvy, tuberculous, malaria, starvation, unidentified fevers, and freezing to death. This, they found preferable to facing the extermination order put forth by Governor Boggs of Missouri. I believe this is the most courageous act of faith - to leave all they had that was familiar and travel the rough terrain in the unknown in search of a place where they could worship in peace. My daughters left this morning for a small re-creation of what the pioneers experienced. I don't love the idea since I know so many of the pioneers died but it is a way for many of the youth to connect to their ancestors and understand what many of the early members endured for their faith. The youth were asked...
5 comments
Read more

Public Notice

Dear friends, neighbors, enemies, and people I don't know: Understand that it all started out very innocently. I planned my garden carefully. Everything had a place and plenty of room. Within my planning, I included three spaghetti squash plants, two yellow squash and two zucchini. Out of the 7 plants, two came up and they weren't my beloved spaghetti squash. This year we have added two grow boxes to the south side of the house. One of which we brought in a garden mix of soil and I planted neat little rows of seeds. The other was left untouched. All I saw was dirt. So I started pushing squash seeds into it. I don't even know what kind they are. When they came up, I transplanted them so they would have room to grow. I also noticed I had two squash plants (pumpkins, perhaps?) growing in the main garden that I hadn't planted. Apparently, I had also dropped a seed in the dirt outside the grow boxes and it's coming up as a squash plant, too. Last count, I hav...
9 comments
Read more