You Don’t Think About Growing Old

(Photo by Tima Miroshnichenko)

You don’t think about growing old when you’re five years old
All you care about is recess, eating ice cream, and learning how to ride a bike

You don’t think about growing old when you’re eighteen years old
All you care about is growing older
To have fun, freedom, to escape from the tiny microscope your parents have you under

You don’t think about growing old when you’re thirty-five years old
All you care about is getting your kids to school and practice on time, or having alone time to yourself

You start to think about growing old when your grandparents begin to pass away, and you watch the grief your parents face in their absence

You start to think about growing old when you begin to become the parent of your parents, when you notice they’re starting to forget things
A birthday. Zip code. Who the person sitting next to them is

You start to think about growing old when you become older than your parents were
When the wrinkled face that’s yours starts to look unfamiliar and older than what you feel on the inside