Today is my birthday.

Today I also stayed home from work so as to take Cody into the hospital for his outpatient Botox procedure (I am too tired (and not sure I could adequately explain it anyway) to go into detail about it but I am sure you could Google Botox and Cerebral Palsy to learn more).

Long story short, Cody stayed home from school today.  Since I moved into Arizona from out of state, I am required to take a Professional Knowledge test (as if getting a Master’s in Education was not enough) to prove I am competent to teach in this state.  And so while Cody rested, I studied.  I studied with my lovely progressive lensed glasses on.  I had to get them last year with all the reading I was required to do in the Master’s program.

My eyes were tired at the end of the day and so I continued to wear my glasses – not something I typically do.  Cody and I went to pick up Carter from the after school program.  As Carter was gathering his back pack, a boy who is in Carter’s class and also attends the after school program came running up to me.  For some reason he is always excited to see me, gives me a big hug and calls me “Hi Carter’s Mom!”  It is cute.

Today he runs up but stops short of the hug.  He looks up at me and says, “You look like my Grandma.”

I am a little taken back, never referred to before as Grandma material, and say to him that it must be my glasses.  It is my birthday, but really?  I take them off.

He looks at me hard and says, “No, it is not your glasses.  You still look like my Grandma.  You have the same hair.”

He picks up a dodge ball that has drifted his way and turns to reenter the game that is in progress but stops and turns back after a couple steps.

“My Grandma has lesser teeth than you have so that is a difference.  Bye, Carter’s Mom!”

“Fewer teeth” I call after him, “Fewer”, in a desperate attempt to correct his grammar.

Today I turn 41.  I may look like a Grandma to some (or at least one) but I win when it comes to the question of number of teeth.