Passport Photos- I've Realised I'm Old!

What is it about passport photos; the stark lighting, the serious expression? Whatever it is, mine makes me look as old as my mother. Having taken the photo and viewed the result, I rushed to the mirror to assure myself that I didn't really look that bad. The trouble is, I do! When did that happen? When did I start to look middle-aged and why didn't someone tell me? The thing is, I'm one of those people who rarely looks in the mirror. I have long straight hair that I wash, comb straight and leave to dry which it does in an hour and remains as straight as "pump water" until I've slept on it. No blowdrying, no primping, no having to check it in the mirror. I also rarely wear makeup so again no need for a mirror. I guess that expains why I'm so shocked at my unvarnished appearence. Apart from aches and pains, I don't feel as old as I am- I mean feelings about things, sense of humour etc. My 15 year old called me immature the other day and sometimes that's how I feel. So the question is should I start exercising my face to chase my emerging jowls away, should I wear makeup and cut my hair short or should I just accept the fact that I've become the person my mother was when I was a teenager?
I'm not going to show you the offending photo, that's between me and the passport dept. However, I take some comfort from the fact that my youngest's photo makes her look dreadful too:

Incidentally, I heard on the radio yesterday that if you DO look like your passport photo, then you're too ill to travel. I'm going for a lie down......