Do I know how I look?

Hello,

Last night at work a patron came up and stated that his library number was 1966. “Oh that would be easy for me to remember because I graduated from high school that year.” I told him.

“It is easy for me too because it was the year that I was born,” he told me with a grin.

Now I did not know quite what to respond because I was astonished that he was that much younger than I am. He had a small child with him. I assumed that was a grandson. But then, someone 18 years younger than I am could have a grandchild. I get to measuring it all by the age of my grandchildren. Also he did not make any comments about how I looked so young. For all I know he had pegged me at a much older age. I suspect I look my age or older because it has not happened that anyone tells me they think I am younger than I am. Most, or all, of my life I have been looking my age or older. When I was in high school people would sometimes ask me what I was doing. I wondered if they thought I was held back for a few years and was not very smart.

The only times I remember being told I looked younger was when I was substituting in the schools while Leroy was in seminary. I questioned one of the people about it after she treated me as if I were one of the high school students. “Perhaps you do not look so young, but so many of them look so much older,” she replied.

I should perhaps find a culture that reveres old age and wisdom. I could get much more than my share of homage.

Yesterday Leroy and I looked out and saw a pair of cardinals taking a splash in the bird bath. It looked like great fun.

Paula