I was a coed again — after 20 years.

I couldn’t believe I’d managed to make the necessary twists and turns in life to find my way back to a college campus. But there I was, ready and willing to learn, to finally knock out the remaining credits and snag the degree.

After my first day of classes, I stopped at a nearby grocery store for candy in case I got any trick-or-treaters — and grabbed a bottle of bubbly for celebration. I deserved it!

I was feeling euphoric when the checker behind the counter carded me. He couldn’t have been talking to me, could he? Not 42-year-old me. I looked in front of me and behind me. He winked, then motioned to my university sweatshirt.

“I card all the coeds.” My heart melted. Coed. I really and truly was a coed again!