Etienne and I went to the funeral of a friend’s Mom today and in a weird way I love going to funerals. I get a chance to have a little cry (which really doesn’t take a lot if you know me at all) and it gives me an opportunity to let my mind wander. (I do mean that in the nicest way possible and I’m hoping not to be struck down by lightning or something being from an NG Kerk background, the Catholic Church of the Afrikaner when it comes to guilt.)
I was thinking about our friend who lost his last parent and their children’s last Grandparent.
And then I thought about the fact that we still have both our parents, despite the fact that I bitch and moan about some of them sometimes (once again, in the nicest way possible of course).
And then I thought about what our parents were doing when they were the same age as we are now. When Etienne’s parents were almost 40 they didn’t have him yet, in fact his Mom wasn’t even pregnant yet. When my parents were almost 40 I was in High School. And my Mom had cancer when she was 42.
Which is quite scary considering that Etienne turns 40 in February and I only (cough) neeeeext year.
I also realized that if our kids have kids at the same age we had them I will be 70 before I see any Grandchildren. Now that’s a scary thought.
And then I thought about getting old. Not in a morbid I’m-going-to-die way. In an I-wonder-how-it-will-be way.
Will I have lots of hobbies? (Definitely. I’m the Hobby Queen)
Will I drink a lot of gin/vodka/wine (Duh)
Will I be cantankerous? (Probably)
When will I stop working? (Hopefully long before then)
When will Etienne retire? (Hopefully not long after me, we have lots of catching up to do)
Where will we live? (By the sea I hope)
Will we still have sex? (Hell yes, that’s what drugs are for)
What will our kids end up doing? (Anything they want)
Will we be grandparents? (I hope so)
Will I interfere? (See under Cantankerous)
How do you feel about getting old? Do you think about getting old and being old? What do you want for your life when you are old?
What an amazing post my special chica! Theres something peaceful and at the same time chaotic about funerals but I agree that it makes you think about your own space in life, how you lead it and importantly how you leave it and how people will remember you. Thumbs up for the retired and travelling, drinking, cantankerous yet crafty granny who still has sex at 80! My question……should we all go to Thailand first or the Amazon 🙂
What an amazing post my special chica! Theres something peaceful and at the same time chaotic about funerals but I agree that it makes you think about your own space in life, how you lead it and importantly how you leave it and how people will remember you. Thumbs up for the retired and travelling, drinking, cantankerous yet crafty granny who still has sex at 80! My question……should we all go to Thailand first or the Amazon 🙂
Great post.
Also hope to retire near the sea….place where I feel at peace the most.
Hope to have lots of grandkids to totally over indulge them.
Hobbies for sure….paint,sew,read,work on my photography skills.
True about funerals that is a time to reflect…….
I also missed out on grandparents as a kid….hazard of being the child of laatlammetjies(both Mom and Dad)
Ooh…this never used to worry me…but recently i have started realising that I am way older than I remember my parents being (at a certain stage)…(does that make any sense what so ever 🙂
Its starting to worry me…just a little…
Yep, getting old is for other people. I just feel that I am maturing. Not like the stinky cheese, before you crack a joke. Turning 50 with a 4 and a five year old,”what was I thinking” has made me take stock of life. 1. You are only as old as the woman you feel. I married a younger babe. 2. What would I be doing with my life if I didnt have 2 small boys, drinking and partying which would have added another 10 years or taken them away, depending on how you look at it. 3. I only became an adult when I turned 40 so actually, I am turning 30 on saturday, not 50. OK you have to be in my head space to relate. See you Saturday!