Thanks to the feminist movement telling us we can have it all, women are reprioritizing how to get all they want and are taking their time to become mommies. So unlike in the days of "Leave It to Beaver," it now seems more common to start planning a family in your 30s and 40s. Well, in my case, things did not necessarily go according to plan: I was married at 20, a mom at 21 and a divorcée at 24. Not at all how I pictured it, but I couldn't imagine my life any other way. As it turns out, being a young mom is the most fulfilling adventure I could've asked for -- and one I wouldn't trade for anything. I'm about to turn 35 in a couple of months, and my gorgeous daughter is 13 and resembles a young woman more than my little girl. As if it wasn't hard enough being a single working mother, I'm now a single working mother with a teenager.

"No, she's my daughter -- not my sister."

Have you ever found yourself being mistaken for younger than you really are? I am, often. Has it ever been a bad thing? If you're the mom of a teenage daughter, it just might be ... to her. When it comes to my daughter and me, it has almost become expected that I be mistaken for her sister rather than her mom. I love it! What woman in her mid-30s wouldn't love to be thought of as a decade younger than she is?

But my daughter does not share my enthusiasm. It wouldn't be so bad, but once I kindly correct the person, there usually follows a gasp of surprise and praise towards me for appearing so young. I smile politely, and then instantly feel the dread, knowing that when I glance over to my daughter, she won't be smiling ... she'll be mid-eye roll and half glaring in my direction. Teenagers! You know that when she's in her 30s and hopefully gets hit with the same genetic "looks young for her age" stick, she'll appreciate the compliments and will be grateful. But for now, all it is to her is an opportunity for me to relentlessly steal her thunder and make her more self-aware and self-conscious.

So what's a young mom to do? I can't help that I don't look my age. And I certainly don't think I should be apologizing for it. But how do I lessen the blow to my daughter's ego and self-image? It's a tightrope walk, for sure. And one I haven't nearly mastered. Sometimes you just can't win. And I think that's the biggest lesson I've learned. I can't control how my daughter is going to react to the attention I get, but I can teach her to be proud of herself and her appearance. I work very hard to remind her that we (women) all have our insecurities about our appearances. And when we notice that there are differences between what we look like and what other women look like, it's those differences that make us unique and uniquely beautiful.

Let's just hope she's listening.