I’m Older than My Mother

I’m older than my mother. How can that be? For years, my mother would say she was 21+. I remember when someone asked her age, she would reply: 21+. At my wedding I remember her face grimacing when I attempted to tell someone her age.

I’m 45. I have no problem saying that: I’m 45. No big deal. Why was it such a big deal for mother? As she is no longer alive, I can’t even ask her that question. Could be a generational thing. She was born in 1924; women were more private, reserved. Could be a personal thing. She married late, when she was 35. I don’t think she felt good about it taking her so long to get married.

Here I am, 45, and feeling fine about being 45.