My Teenage Son ... at H & R Block..

Did you know that I had a teenage son .. or maybe even a 20 something son? I didn't.

Today at H&R Block, Justin and I arrived for our "tax session." I made the appointment (not that big of a deal.. I thought) and we proceeded to check in with the receptionist (my guess would be that she was in her 60's.) She said "Thanks Mrs. Cotton, your tax representative will be with you two shortly. No big deal, nothing out of the ordinary.

Justin and I sit down and start talking. We are both pretty dressed up, I have a black sweater on with a white collared shirt underneath and he is wearing a collared shirt. About 15 minutes later, our tax representative "Greg" or something like that comes up to greet us. The receptionist stands up and says "Greg, this is Mrs. Cotton" (I shake his hand and respond 'Jenny' and then he goes to shake Justin's hand) "and her son."

We both look at her and my mouth drops open.

"Oh no, no - this is my husband, Justin." (Greg chuckles and shakes his hand.)

I turn to the receptionist and ask, "Does he look young enough to be my son?" She shrugs.

As we are walking to the private cubicle, I then precede to tell Greg, "He is older then me! I must look pretty old!"

His response, "You just never know these days!"

Really? Really? My 24th birthday was just a few weeks ago. Of course Justin has taken this as a complement, but what does that mean for me?

Immediately after our two hour session... (Yeah so I figured out that with the program he was using and how many mistakes he made by just simply answering yes or no, a monkey could probably do his job better...) I ran out to the car and looked in the review mirror. My same face was looking back at me. I was half worried that maybe I had prematurely aged during the 15 minutes of sitting there before our meeting. No obvious wrinkles and "age" lines were noted; I might have looked a little tired - but nothing to indicate Justin was my son.

I would understand if it had been a slip of the tongue. One night, I had told the parents of my premature patient that his apnea and bradycardic spells would no longer be an issue ... "when your son becomes human... whoops.. I meant adult.. No that's not what I meant either - full term. Sorry!" We all had a good laugh and the apology was accepted.

There was no apology. I got a shrug and a "you just never know these days."

All I have to say is "Really?!?"

Here are a few pictures of my teenage son and me. Enjoy (because Justin sure is...)