> Maybe perception of age isn't as much a
> numbers game as we might think. Perhaps
> it's more related to generational relationships.
> I've always thought of my grandparents as
> "old," even when they were only in their fifties--
> maybe even more so back then because I
> was so young. I doubt I'll ever think of my own
> parents as old, even when I'm they're age and
> they're in their eighties-- but I could be wrong
> about that.


No, I think you're right. And not even generations... I tend to put people who were born in the same year in different age categories depending on my relationship to them. For example, my college has several students who are 16 and 17, and I'm good friends with them and see them as basically my age, while there are 16- and 17-year-olds at home that I've mentored over the years, and I see them as very young. Which is weird to think about.

Actually college is a special case, I guess... I'm two years older than most of my class but I still see upperclassmen as older than me. And I didn't go to public school, but I wonder if it's the same there, if people perceive relative ages more on basis of grade than of actual age.

Lire"spent two years traipsing around Europe and being a part-time mom"lyn