By Andrea Ahonen Having a four-year-old around can change your perspective on things. Amanda learned to speak at a very early age and hasn't stopped since. She is candid and opinionated about everything. There has been more than one occasion when she has loudly announced her opinions in a public place such as the store, making me want to drop through a crack in the tile and disappear in embarrassment. This time, however, she chose to speak her opinion at home. I have always prided myself on my youthfulness. On most occasions when I have bought something that requires one to be a certain age, I have been carded. The clerk often looks surprised to find that I am nearly thirty and remarks that I look more like I am 20 to 24. This makes me happy and I walk out of the store with a huge grin, confident that I will be forever young. My daughter doesn't see it that way, though. The other night, we were sitting on the bed watching television and I looked down and noticed a small bruise on my leg. I didn't remember bumping anything and had no idea where it came from. "Hmm," I wondered aloud. "Where could that bruise have come from?" Amanda looked at the bruise, then up at me with innocent blue eyes. "Duh, mom. All old people get those," she said with a matter-of-fact tone in her voice. She then turned her attention back to the TV. They say you are as young as you feel. In that moment, I felt as though I was at least seventy. Then the moment passed, the lesson was learned, and I realized that no matter how Amanda sees me, my days aren't quite over yet. Now if I could only get her to understand the value of silence... About the Author: The author is a freelance writer currently residing in Bradenton, Florida with her family. She posts articles on Themestream.com when Amanda is sleeping, which isn't very often. http://www.themestream.com/gspd_browse/browse/view_by_tag.gsp?auth_id=35737 | 
