Forever Young

It’s a shame we don’t meet our parents until they are already firmly rooted in adulthood.  We forget that they were once irresponsible carefree teenagers, challenging adolescents, and inquisitive children.  We weren’t around when they got their first kiss… or their first heart break.  We didn’t get to see them striking a pose or being silly with their friends.  

To us, they were Mom and Dad.  

To us, they were old.

I met my mother for the first time when she was 32. 

I said goodbye to her for the last time when she was 77.  

Today, she would have been 85.

I wish I had known her when she was 19.  Most likely, I would be next to her on that wall trying to be all sexy and stuff.  

I wish I had known her when she was 21.  Because, we would have definitely been doing that crazy “Hey, Hey, We’re the Monkees” walk down that dirt road near my grandparents’ cabin.

But I did get to spend 45 years with her.

And I feel pretty darn lucky!