I often casually forget the ages of my children. I can come up with each child's age when I devote the mental energy to do so, but if I'm not actively thinking about it, I tend to think of them as ages other than they are.
For example, I keep thinking that Connor is a teenager even though he is only eleven. In my defence, Connor has had the snarky attitude of a teenager for a while now. Even though he acts older than his biological age, we occasionally catch glimpses of his more vulnerable childhood.
I also have to remind myself that my daughters are both able to (and have been able to) legally drink. I know that they both passed 21, yet when they talk about drinking, I still have to take a moment to remember that it is legal for them to do so. Actually, the fact that they are (or will be in the next couple of weeks) college graduates still catches me by surprise from time to time.
For that matter, "little" Trevor is now a senior in high school. In fact, he will be 18 in just a couple of weeks! An adult! Trevor! Yet he's still not willing to practice driving so he can get a licence.
Poor Rowen, being the youngest, I'm afraid will stay in my mind as younger than he is. Sometimes, I think that he recognizes this and milks it for all that it's worth. But he's in third grade now, the point in my own life that I started to really think of myself as an "independent" individual (it was the age that I told my parents that I no longer needed to go to school since I knew adding, subtracting, multiplying, dividing, reading, and writing, and thus there was nothing more for school to teach me).
I suppose that incorrectly remembering my children's ages should come as little surprise. I rarely think of myself as the age I currently am. Most of the time, I still feel like I'm in my twenties, maybe early thirties. However, there are days when I feel absolutely ancient (almost all of my students were born after the attacks on 9/11?!).
In the end, age does not fully define who we are to ourselves let alone to those who know us.
For example, I keep thinking that Connor is a teenager even though he is only eleven. In my defence, Connor has had the snarky attitude of a teenager for a while now. Even though he acts older than his biological age, we occasionally catch glimpses of his more vulnerable childhood.
I also have to remind myself that my daughters are both able to (and have been able to) legally drink. I know that they both passed 21, yet when they talk about drinking, I still have to take a moment to remember that it is legal for them to do so. Actually, the fact that they are (or will be in the next couple of weeks) college graduates still catches me by surprise from time to time.
For that matter, "little" Trevor is now a senior in high school. In fact, he will be 18 in just a couple of weeks! An adult! Trevor! Yet he's still not willing to practice driving so he can get a licence.
Poor Rowen, being the youngest, I'm afraid will stay in my mind as younger than he is. Sometimes, I think that he recognizes this and milks it for all that it's worth. But he's in third grade now, the point in my own life that I started to really think of myself as an "independent" individual (it was the age that I told my parents that I no longer needed to go to school since I knew adding, subtracting, multiplying, dividing, reading, and writing, and thus there was nothing more for school to teach me).
I suppose that incorrectly remembering my children's ages should come as little surprise. I rarely think of myself as the age I currently am. Most of the time, I still feel like I'm in my twenties, maybe early thirties. However, there are days when I feel absolutely ancient (almost all of my students were born after the attacks on 9/11?!).
In the end, age does not fully define who we are to ourselves let alone to those who know us.
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