Friday, August 19, 2011

Do the Math









Mom and dad... both 66, and me at half their age, 33!!

DRAFT

Being the worrier I was (am).... I didn't accept change very well. I had to change schools after grade 10 and started to worry... about everything. I started doing the math in my head... my parents were 32 and 33 when they had me, so by the time I was their age, they'd be 66 and 65. That was retirement age! I started to think about the fact that I would one day lose my parents. I'd have this worried expression on my face and would go to my mom. She'd take one look at my face and say, 'Go find your dad.'

Dad always listened to my fears and reassured me. He listened to my fears in elementary school, when I started to worry about my own mortality. He listened when I freaked out about the world coming to an end, as the kids at school were talking about it after a show aired on tv about the end of days. I told you I was a worrier. Dad was always there for the big, worrying stuff for me. I wonder why mom sent men to him. She was more than capable of handling it herself. Indeed, she handled my worries no problem when I was older. Maybe she figured that she'd done enough for us kids every day, and dad could handle the big stuff!

The Secret would tell you that I worried about the future so much that I worried it into existence. I'd like to give The Secret a swift kick up the... well, you get the picture. Truth is, life happens. People get sick, people die. I read somewhere recently that you live the good with the bad. Living with a father with Parkinson's, while celebrating friends having children, I understand that. What I'm not yet fully able to deal with is the roller coaster of emotions that it brings.

My mom was one of a kind in her generation. Now it's common for women to have children in their 30s, but not so common in the 70s. She was always the oldest at the schoolyard by 5-10 years. My youngest brother was born when she was 39, and starting to go grey. Nothing irked her more than being mistaken for his grandma!
Having children in yours 30s and 40s puts that many more years between you and you child. I hear of celebrities having kids at mid to late 40s, and all I hope is that they have a retirement plan. I suppose they have lots of money, so maybe it's different for them. However, they'll be nearing their 60s and they're children will just be reaching their 20s. Are they reedy to cope with the stress of an aging parent?

As it is, dad is 32 years older than me. He was also relatively young when diagnosed with Parkinson's. So when I take him to dr visits, I'm the youngest person in there by about 25 years. Certainly the only one entertaining myself on my iPhone, or reading fashion and home magazines!


TO BE COMPLETED...

No comments:

Post a Comment