Age and Wisdom

I sat in class, tired from the hectic events of the week. The events you can't prepare for. A trip to Urgent Care. An ill child who is also very tired and very hungry. A fight with the swim school over a ridiculous policy. The large amounts of blood that appeared to cover my arm and the bathroom floor from a bloody nose. And so on. My class partners sat down next to me. As they settled, I heard the kids behind me talking about some website that takes songs and speeches and changes them so they are monotone. Katie Couric's speech doesn't change according to them.

"Sometimes, I feel really old." I mumbled under my breath as I stretched my arms and back. Both of my partners looked at me and laughed. It wasn't that funny.

"She thinks she's old" she said to him. "I'm older than you are" she addressed to me.

"How old do you think I am?" I am frequently thought to be younger than I am. This fact use to annoy me to no end, especially as a college student. I enjoy it more with each passing year.

She seemed embarrassed. He sat very quietly. "How old are you?" she said, uncertain if it would help.

"Guess." It was a short and simple statement that put the ball squarely in her court.

"Well..." she hesitated, thinking. He continued to sit quietly. "Because I know you have two kids and you are married, I would guess 25. But not because of how you look." She withdrew as if she was worried I would be upset.

I smiled. "How old do you think I look?" I wanted to laugh hard and loud. I didn't. So far, this was proving to be the highlight of my week.

"Off of looks, I would say 23."

I started laughing. "Close. Just add 13 years to that second guess."

"No way!" they said in unison.

"Okay. I'm still 35 until next week." I admitted not sheepishly at all.

"You are older than me. I'm 31" she said. He didn't say anything.

I was very supportive of the misunderstanding, announcing, "I am going to laugh about this when I get home. Probably tomorrow too and maybe even over the weekend."