What were your parents doing at your age?
No, I’m not retreading an old topic. (Tread….get it? Re-tire?) I’m responding to the prompt, actually.
I think by this time my mother had shown me my father’s obituary that she had clipped from the newspaper.* I never knew him, and quite frankly, seeing the article, I had absolutely no emotional response whatsoever. My foray into 23&Me never turned up any possible half-siblings either, so that was the end of that.
As for my mother, she was just approaching retirement at 67. She thought she’d work longer, but being on her feet most of the day as a hospital file clerk for the hospital’s Family Practice Center had been taking its toll. Mentally, she was still sharp, and she constantly amazed her co-workers when they’d come by and say, “May I have the Weaver file?” and she’d reach up and just pull it out without consulting anything. In that somewhat finite practice she had almost all of the numbers memorized.
As she began contemplating retirement, the admin decided to hire her some part-time help. And that drove her into retirement since her “help” was nothing of the kind. She pulled the cord and retired at 67.
I thought I’d make it until 67 but, with changes in education, society, and students, I decided it was time to jump at 65.
Which of course doesn’t mean I stopped: see more here.
* The blurry photo that accompanied the obit seemed to have been taken in a bar, so that served as additional evidence that I really didn’t miss out on anything not having a present father.
which is why Live used it here.
MUSOFYR 