People get old....

Sometimes it is hard not to see my parents as they were.
But I also have to face the fact that they are tired, and getting older.
My mum is frailer and there are moments when she looks her 83 years, and needs to
rest (which of course she doesn't) and my dad has to do more and more, and he gets tired. One day they won't be here and I will find that incredibly hard. I will miss the wit and charm of them. Their minds are razor sharp. They discuss world affairs with more intelligence and wisdom than people half their age- being journalists it is hard-wired into them. We have a good relationship. It has been hard won and we like each other. My friends find it unbelievable that I can spend two whole weeks with them whenever I can. They find it hard to spend more than a few hours with their parents. I think it is because my parents are so good at being on their own. They like being independent even of each other, and then coming together for meals with bits of news to share. Like birds bringing bits of nesting back to their home.

So I am lucky. Very lucky, and I know that luck runs out. And so I am mindful of every minute I can spend here and bask in their comfortable toing and froings.