If Looks Could Kill

No kidding. The doorbell just rang, and a nice looking young man is on the other side. I smile and say hello, and he asks me if my mom or dad is home. The look on my face must have been startled, or even incredulous, because he immediately backtracked, and said, " Uh...or are you the mom...?" Uh, ya. I'm the thirty year old mom wearing converse tennis shoes, and blue jeans with a blue linen sweater. So sue me. He apologized and said how wonderful it was to look so young, then took his ball cap off an showed me his 29 year old (I'm OLDER than him!) balding head. Not a little bald, a lot bald. He said he'd trade me...and while I envisioned a "Freaky Friday" type switch, I mumbled "Trust me, I would too..."

I'm so tired of hearing about how young I look. Even my fellow high school classmates (Love you guys) voted me least changed, when to me, I was far from it. A lot of them looked exactly the way I remembered them....I get looked over at makeup counters, people have asked for my daddy when I pick up the phone...Ahhhh! I am proudly thirty years old. I have a soon to be thirteen year old, and a soon to be ten year old. I dress my age for the most part, and I wish to hell I looked as old as I felt. Youthful looks are worthless unless I also get to enjoy the lack of responsibility and carefree weekends driving recklessly on back roads with my best friend. My face is still red. Embarrassment? or Irritation? I'll let you figure it out...

Thursday's Thoughts

The thought for today:

Youth is wasted on the young. -George Bernard Shaw

As this is only my thirtieth orbit of Sol, I feel that I am caught between youth and wisdom. My job puts me in such a position that I am faced with both extremes. The young men and women that I am teaching to be army communicators are often the exact reason I suppose that Mr. Shaw formed that thought; rash, headstrong, ruled by their emotions. At the same time, the retired soldiers I work with have at least twenty years more experience at life than me. They often make me feel like a young rash foolhardy person myself. As a result I often spend my days wishing for a little of the former's energy and a little of the latter's wisdom.

I suppose that the end result is that we can't change which state of life we are in. While you are young, you should enjoy it with relish while being cognizant of the fact that youth is fleeting. When youth is well behind you, enjoy the fact that those years of insecurity and confusion are behind you while doing your best to guide those in need of your help. For those of us who are caught in the middle, perhaps we should just be happy that we have our toes in both pools.