"My mother opened the door to her apartment, joyful to see me in her doorway. She was wearing an oversize black T-shirt with white cursive across the front that reads: "I can't believe I'm the same age as old people." I've long accepted that she's no fashionista, but I've only recently begun to grasp that my quirky 76-year-old mother is getting up there in years. (Can we say old? Her shirt says old.)"
"I've only recently started to grapple with her mortality I've seen her scrape the edges of mortality many times: Stage II breast cancer, four joint replacements, rheumatoid arthritis, and a coronary angioplasty. These have been her personal trials, of course, but as her only child, I hope that I've borne some of the weight with her. I recall the diagnoses, the doctors' appointments, the tears, the terror in her eyes from some awkward hospital bed."
An only child describes growing awareness of her seventy-six-year-old mother's advancing age and the emotional impact of imagining life without her. The mother wears a shirt reading "I can't believe I'm the same age as old people," underscoring wry denial and humor. Years of serious health issues — Stage II breast cancer, four joint replacements, rheumatoid arthritis, and a coronary angioplasty — reveal a body accumulating damage. The child recounts witnessing diagnoses, appointments, and fear, and alternates between minimizing those events and recognizing their cumulative reality. Googling life expectancy and wondering how to process mortality prompts reflection on acceptance and fear.
Read at Business Insider
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