A Different Stage of Life

Are any of you the baby of the family? It's an interesting birth order. It means you probably got away with a lot more than your older siblings. It also means you had different parents than your oldest sibling had, even though they are the same people. Let me explain.

My brother is 8 years older than I am. Well, almost 8 years older. Our other brother (who died when he was 17) was 5 years older than I am. Mom says they had to wait a LONG time before having another child after he was born. Let's just say he & Natalie were cut of the same mold. My niece Becky has the same genes as well. Just sayin'. So I came along & thanks to his shenanigans I appeared to be an angelic child, at least when I was young.

When I was 12, my brother Steve was killed in a car accident. By then, Greg (my oldest brother), was in college (though living at home), working, driving, etc. He did the driving & working part at the age when most kids do. My parents were more cautious with me. After losing a child in a car accident, I don't blame them! Plus, by then we lived in the "country" sort of (Canyon Lake) and driving at night meant lots of nothingness around, except deer to charge your car. Yes, I did have a deer run into my car (funny, years later my husband had a deer run into our car!). So, that's one way my folks were different with me.

The other thing is that Greg got married really young & had kids really young. My mom was a grandmother at 43! Phil was 41 when we had our 2nd child! Greg grew up having the "young" parents in the group, and so did his kids. I grew up having the "older" parents in the group. Ha! They were SO much younger than we are at the same stages! My parents were grandparents when I was in high school & college. I've spent most of my life being Aunt Lori. I always say I've either been a kid or been taking care of kids my entire life.

So, what does that have to do with this stage of life? My husband is a few months older than my brother. Yes, he is 8 years older than I am. And 4 days. But whose counting? LOL! We have a 13 year old and a 10 year old. By the way, we have a lot of friends, especially in the homeschooling community, who also are our ages with kids the ages of our kids. Some started late, but others just have a lot of kids spread out in ages. I was 15 when I became an Aunt. I was 31 when I became a mom. My nephew, who is 29, became a dad this year. Are you still with me? This means my brother is a GRANDFATHER and he is the same age as Phil. Some of Phil's friends had grandkids when we were just having kids.

It's odd for me to realize I'm older now than Mom was when she became a grandmother, but I am nowhere near being a grandmother. It's strange to think that some people who graduated from High School with me probably have grandkids. I go on Facebook & see these precious grandbaby pictures & think, "Wow, those people are so YOUNG to be grandparents!" but really, it's just that we aren't so young to have kids the ages they are. It's strange to think we are only 10 years out of our having babies stage, yet more than 10 years (WAY more, please!) from having grandbabies.

It's an odd place in life to be, but I have others who are right there with me. I suppose it will be great fun for us all to be playing with our grandchildren.....from our walkers! LOL!

Coming soon: my child's creative costume!