Feeling Old
I had the opportunity to volunteer at the elementary school this week. I was helping register the new kindergarten students. Last year, I did the same thing, but did not have a partner to help pass the time. This year, a nice young lady was paired with me. I appreciated the adult conversation and was glad to have met her.
This "young lady" looked to be about 26. She has a 6 year old, so having a baby at 20 seemed young, but who am I to judge?
I found out today that she was born in 1988! Do you know what I was doing in 1988? I was a freshman in high school for the first part of that year, and then that fall, I entered my sophomore year. I was into newspaper and writing, Steve Yzerman, and heavy metal bands. I knew she was young, but clearly, I had no idea just how young!
Good for her that she and her husband are making it work. I didn't get the details, but her two children (one is 2) are both from her husband. That means she might have left school, or gotten married in school -- high school! If I had shown any interest in boys at that point in my life, I could conceivably be this woman's mother! A grandma at the ripe old age of going-on-37!
I see this situation quite a bit with my college students. Many of them are grandparents by the time they are about 37. I know they are proud to be grandparents, but I do wonder about the alternative. What if their children had decided to postpone parenthood just a wee bit longer? What sort of education will all these kids-having-kids get? I know that question is too tough to answer, so I won't bother to try here.
I have to tell you, though, since finding out her age this morning, I swear I have found a couple more crow's feet on my face, and a sprinkling of some fine, gray, hairs. Yikes!
This "young lady" looked to be about 26. She has a 6 year old, so having a baby at 20 seemed young, but who am I to judge?
I found out today that she was born in 1988! Do you know what I was doing in 1988? I was a freshman in high school for the first part of that year, and then that fall, I entered my sophomore year. I was into newspaper and writing, Steve Yzerman, and heavy metal bands. I knew she was young, but clearly, I had no idea just how young!
Good for her that she and her husband are making it work. I didn't get the details, but her two children (one is 2) are both from her husband. That means she might have left school, or gotten married in school -- high school! If I had shown any interest in boys at that point in my life, I could conceivably be this woman's mother! A grandma at the ripe old age of going-on-37!
I see this situation quite a bit with my college students. Many of them are grandparents by the time they are about 37. I know they are proud to be grandparents, but I do wonder about the alternative. What if their children had decided to postpone parenthood just a wee bit longer? What sort of education will all these kids-having-kids get? I know that question is too tough to answer, so I won't bother to try here.
I have to tell you, though, since finding out her age this morning, I swear I have found a couple more crow's feet on my face, and a sprinkling of some fine, gray, hairs. Yikes!
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