Forever Young

First of all, I have to admit that it's a little creepishly fitting that I've decided to write this post when only last night I heard a rather lovely cover (by Youth Group) of "Forever Young" and spent the rest of the evening humming the tune. But, I digress...

My sweet friend Michele has strongly encouraged that I write something new here, and despite the fact that I'm utterly convinced few people come here anymore... except all you "Johnny Depp" Googlers (hey fellow Johnny lovers!)... I've decided she's right. It's time.

And because I'm at work and don't have a lot of time to write something wildly magnificent (or even moderately intriguing)... I decided to pull from her latest post and instead tell you a mildly amusing story relating to my new job.

I plan to go into more detail here on Notions about the fact that I've started a new job (right after I fulfill my previous promise to write about why 2008 was such a marvelous year); but in the meantime, suffice it to say, I've started a new job working for a cancer education center and I couldn't be more thrilled. This is far and away the most amazing job I've had so far, and I am so happy to be here. I started December 15 and have slowly been making the rounds, learning the ropes, and meeting folks who've been on holiday, away on business trips, etc.

Well, about two weeks after I started, I remembered that I had not yet met the VP of HR because she had been out of the office my first week. So, one afternoon I noticed she was in her office with the door open and decided to stick my head in and introduce myself. I knocked, put my hand out and said, "Hi. I'm Martha Belden... the new project editor in Meetings. It's so nice to finally meet you." With slightly widened eyes, she stood up, shook her head once and then smiled, exclaiming, "Oh! You're Martha! I keep seeing you around the office, and I've been wondering, 'Who brought their kid to work?'"

I didn't know what to say, but I'm pretty sure I turned some deep shade of visible humiliation. Eventually I think I mumbled something about trying to dress more like a grownup (it's quite possible she made this assumption based on my Pink Floyd t-shirt, cardigan, jeans and Converse... in an environment where almost everyone else wears nice skirts and blouses and sometimes even suits, despite the casual dress code). But she laughed, walked around her desk, shook my hand and said, "Hey. Enjoy it while you can. You look fabulously young, and that probably won't last forever."

I smiled and thanked her before thinking to myself, "Actually. I'm fairly certain it will in fact be a really long time before I look my age." The women in my family simply do not age, and I've got an extra factor working in my favor (well, at least with regards to aging). I have an autoimmune disease called Scleroderma that essentially has created a layer of scar tissue just under the outermost layer of my skin. Therefore, I have almost no elasticity in my skin... but I also have no wrinkles. Hey... gotta stroke that silver lining every once in a while, right?

So get excited. I might just pull off being mistaken for someone's "kid" for a long time yet. I am, after all, nearing 30 while still being mistaken for a 15 - 17 year old on a fairly regular basis. Michele, I'm right there with you. I should view this as a compliment.