I have entered The Death Phase

[cjsmith]

In families with evenly-spaced generations, sometimes there are phases: a bunch of marriages for a while, a bunch of births for a while, a bunch of deaths all closely spaced.

I have entered the Death Phase. Just lost another one last night.

I have currently lost track of how many and exactly which of my extended family has died in the last year. I am hoping to avoid seriously embarrassing myself next time I meet anyone who was close to those people. Being two thousand miles from most of them, and having been a thousand miles away all during the time I was growing up, makes it a little tough to remember. My parents are getting hit hard though. They grew up with these folks. They're taking round-trips west for funerals and it's like watching the ball at a tennis match.

Comments

[klwalton.livejournal.com]

My family went through this about 15 years ago or so with my grandparents' generation. Tim's mother died 5 years ago, and his dad is almost 90. My parents are in their 70s, along with my aunts and uncles and their cousins, so something in the back of our minds is bracing itself for another wave.

What got me, though, was Tim, the other day, saying to me, "I'm the same age my mom was when we got married."

Eep.

It makes me think that I'd better quit wasting time; I do far too much of that.

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

What got me, though, was Tim, the other day, saying to me, "I'm the same age my mom was when we got married."

Yeah. If I were my mom, my eldest child would be eleven years old in October, and I'd be looking at my fifteenth wedding anniversary this fall. Childless and technically unmarried at nearly thirty-five, I sometimes wonder where the heck have I been and what have I done with the time.

Eep.

I hear this hits with force when your own kids get married. None of your children are married yet, right? (I don't know the ages of your kids, 'cept Mary.)

[klwalton.livejournal.com]

Right, none of my kids are married. Megan is the oldest, at 22. The boys are almost-18 and nearly-15.

None of them are likely to be married any time soon. Although I've been known to be wrong before :):).