Lent 2023 day26

 You know that thing where you catch up with someone you haven't seen for years and within a heartbeat you are chatting about the really deep stuff of life? You bypass the 'how are you' s and just launch right into the thing that's on your mind that you really want their opinion on?  Well that happened to me yesterday.  And I love it.  I suppose one of the benefits of getting older is that your friendships get deeper over time. There are a handful of people in my life who know me so well. They trust me, which is a huge thing. They have my back. They honour me..... another big one.  I feel very blessed. I hope you have those people in your life too.

Part of the deep conversation yesterday was about parents. Having them and being them.  At my age most of my friends are now at the stage of caring for/ worrying about/ planning for elderly parents. And most of us are parenting young adults who are off into the big wide world. It's a strange place to be. It's a place those frail elderly parents were in not too long ago. Today, mothers day, I'm more struck than ever by the mystery which is the life cycles of families. I'm so aware that I don't know what it feels like to be old and my kids have zero understanding of what it's like to be middle aged! And yet we all have to lovingly negotiate the swapping round of roles.  We all have to embrace change. Try to understand things which haven't yet happened to us and pass on to the next generation the wisdom we have gained from the things that have.


These middle years are tricky.  They are busy and stretching. We need each other. We need to be able to share the load, talk through the complications, share things which help, listen when we can't help. I'm grateful for people in my life who are walking alongside during this season. The next season will be a whole new ballgame. No parents, no kids, not yet grandkids.  Not sure quite what that will be like but I'm glad there will be some people who got there before me to help me out when I arrive.






P. S. In case you're wondering this was written on my phone 😁

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