Perspective

I have been pondering something George said the other day about seeing our parents age. most of the time, at least in ‘young’ adulthood (20s and 30s), we see that our parents are getting older, but, if anything, they do not seem as old as when we were younger. Then one day, we see it. They are old. This can be due to a change in health or just noticing one day the years on their faces and the whitening of their hair, if there still is some. It has happened for George recently, and it happened for me a little while ago. My question is why does this “shock” us? We know they are older than us, and that they will not be invincible for ever.

After pondering this for a while, my conclusion is that when we acknowledge that our parents are old, we can no longer deny that we are getting older too. I know that I like to think of myself as young – damn, I’m still in school! Doesn’t hat make me young? Of course, I see the differences between my and the students in their early 20s. But still, I don’t think I want to be grown up. and I know tat I am not alone in this. Even friends that are married or have kids, still see themselves as just out of high school, at least not as far out as we really are.

So to sum it up, seeing that our parents are aging forces us to accept that perhaps we really are adults, and we can’t hide forever from the aging process. So I say, bring it on; I am ready for it… as long as I have my facial moisturizers. I may acknowledge that I am aging, but I am going to fight it every step of the way!