And no, I am not talking about sex. I am talking about aging parents. My big sister, oldest of 20+grandchildren, mother of 4 boys is becoming the parent to our Dad. I am living on the other side of the planet trying to give her moral support from afar.

He cannot explain how his car got miles away from home, passing through 2 toll roads and then leaving his car behind and catching the train home. Apparently he leaves the house at midnight( so his neighbor says.) Where could a 74 year old man go at that time of night?

He cannot explain his actions.

We laugh and giggle and make light about the situation, but it really makes me consider our life cycle. I see my daughter at 10 years of age, myself almost 40 and my husband a few days shy of 50. Every stage of life has it’s own challenges. And the only thing we can really prepare for is death.

I watch my “tween” deal with friendship issues and how to deal with bullying. Myself, I know I sound too old to say this but I really feel as if I am coming of age, better late than never. I am discovering my place in the universe. Then my husband starting to look at life from a new perspective, a half a century later.

Responsibility. We learn to take responsibility for ourselves, often through taking responsibility for others. I am not saying that my sister isn’t responsible already. In fact she is a pretty amazing women. But our childhood roles stay in place. I will always be ” the kid,” and in writing this, it has left me with questions on how I need to reassess this perception of where I fit in my family and the consequences on my life choices. Am I suffering from a wrong perception of who I am?

Who am I, Who are You? Where do you fit in your circle of life? Is who you think you are really a figment of your imagination? Have you stereotyped yourself out of things you wanted but thought you couldn’t have.

To be continued…..