... My world shrank as I fixated on the creases around my eyes. These weren't just any lines; they were crevices with a life of their own—fanning out like the aggressive spidery legs of something alive and foreign.

My breath hitched as I watched my hand pull away. 'Who is this grandma?' I screamed inside. 'This was supposed to be a mum and son photo!' And just like that, the joy I should have felt was eclipsed by a single, soul-crushing thought: I am old. It was brutal.