Could It Really Be Age Isn't Just A Number?

It all started with the kids. Suddenly I wasn't just young, fun, hip Rhoda anymore. I was a mom! Then I had to get glasses. So now I am a nerdy mom. But you're only as young as you feel, right? The problem is, some days I feel down right old! I'm not sure at what point it hits that you aren't a spring chicken anymore. I don't even mean just the physical stuff, but suddenly you start to think about all the things you meant to accomplish in your life and realize the years are slowly ticking by.

Going back to school this fall is going to interesting. I know I'm going to be the oldest person in my class, or at least very close to it. But who cares? My perspective has been "better late than never"...until I showed up at the school the other day to take my placement exam. I just can't believe how little they all look, and I kept thinking to myself that I really am going to stick out like a sore thumb! It's definitely going to feel a lot more strange than I originally thought.

But here's where it gets good. For me, age has brought a lot of confidence, wisdom, maturity, and just a general awareness of who I am as a person. The kids I will be in class with most likely won't have any of those advantages. No longer am I going to have to sit in class and worry about what everyone thinks of me, or if I'm the class nerd. As a matter of fact, I hope I am the class nerd. Because I'm 34 years old, and I've got to make it count this time.

(OK, just a little side note. I haven't been able to write even this much without being interrupted a million times. This is definitely going to be a challenge as well as good preparation for when I have a ton of homework!)

Although I was one of those that absolutely hated pretty much my whole entire high school experience, I now realize what a small, insignificant part of my life it was. But I loved my twenties (all the parts I remember anyway), and there are many parts of that decade I miss.

So that brings me back to my kids and the glasses. It turns out I don't look half bad in glasses. And it really doesn't bother me to wear them. And I really love my kids, and most days I like them a lot too! And as far as being the oldest "kid" in my class, at least I don't have all those insecurities we all had back in high school. So if someone wants to talk about me behind my back or look at me funny because they wonder what I'm doing there, I say bring it on! Because I've got plenty of life's experiences under my belt that have made me a lot more thick skinned than I was 15 years ago, and it has served me well.