age matters...

When I was in grade school, I remember thinking that kids who were in high school were so much older than me! As I grew up, it seemed that the "age barriers" that were so apparent then were no longer obstacles at all. Age didn't really matter.

Now as I am watching over my parents, who are 85 this year, it seems that age is once again becoming an issue. Not a big one, mind you, but it's there. They are apt to refer to a 70-year old as "still young." And I'm more apt to view a 70-year old as not so old. As I slow down my pace--slow it way down--in order to be walking with them, not ahead of them, my heart is a little bit bruised, for I realize that these footprints we are leaving are a collection of their last steps.

Make no mistake: I am honored to be walking with them. So what if it takes a little longer to get moving and to reach a destination? If I hurry, I'll miss them. If I slow enough to accompany them, what a delight! They appreciate the smallest gestures, it seems.

And I? I am accumulating a montage of memories; of slow walks and slow talks as they delight in reliving with me the memories of youth now spent. Age does matter...

How sweet that they take me into their confidence and include me in their circle of friends.