Prolonged Karma. 11-11-11

I was just settling in to my job at the daycare. I was fresh off the truck. At 17, I loved kids and had babysat a few here and there. I was going to be starting with the 2 year olds, but before taking over the room, I was spending time with some of the older kids in the afternoons while I was still in school. My father had passed away a couple of months before, and I needed money for college. I was at the playground with a mix of ages, and a little boy had successfully climbed to the top of the dome of monkey bars <I'm sure it has a name, but I can't think of it.> and was feeling pretty proud of himself. But then, he couldn't figure out how to get down, and he was starting to panic and cry a little bit. So, we were all trying to calm him down and get him to relax enough that he could climb down, to no avail.
I had never climbed monkey bars, let alone gotten on something that high as a kid, but I seemed the most capable at the daycare to accomplish the task due to my size and age. I was going in. And so I managed to climb over to him, got him to calm down, and coached him down. And when he got down, he was one relieved kid, grinning from ear to ear. Of course, I felt pretty good, too, and was starting to feel more confident in my new job. He seemed so grateful. And then about 2 hours later, a woman came from the parking lot, walking toward the playground. She called out a name, and one of my charges started to run toward her. I hadn't seen her before, and I wanted to be sure it was someone he should be leaving with. And with her head of grey hair, I called out across the playground for all to hear, "<Boy's name>, is that your grandma?"
With only a slight wince and a smile, she said, "I'm his mother." I was mortified and effusive with apologies. Yep, I went from feeling pretty darn good about myself, to feeling about an inch tall. And so now, my friends have kids starting college, and a few ARE grandmas. I'm clearly old enough to be a grandma, but I vainly douse my hair with color out of necessity. My original hair color is... an ashy shade of brown, I think?? I guess I'll just switch my color to the same color as Boop's after hers starts to come in. And I'll prepare myself for those people who are innocently trying to make conversation and ask me about my grandchild.