The hardest part about getting older . . .

I'm 34 and my husband is 44.   I'm not somebody who is obsessed with age (mine or anybody else's).  None of the big milestone birthdays affected me, and I can't anticipate any of the upcoming ones bothering me, either.   I don't see any sense in lying about my age or getting worked up about it.  I've always just accepted that, yes, I'm getting older and that's a good thing because it means I'm still alive :)

The thing that I wasn't prepared for with getting older is watching loved ones deal with serious health issues, many of which are age-related.   2010 has been a very emotionally draining year for our family as my husband and I have experienced the pain of having sick loved ones.

*My husband's grandmother passed away in February at the age of 94.

*In August my sister was involved in a serious car accident that could have killed her. Fortunately after 8 days in the hospital (including 5 in ICU),  surgery to repair her broken and twisted vertabrae, and 3 months in a back brace she will eventually make a full recovery.

*This fall a good friend of my husband's, who is in her 40's, had a stroke and a heart attack.  She is a mom of 3 kids ranging in age from 15-9.  

*At the beginning of November my husband's "second dad" was hospitalized after doctors discovered aneurysms in his leg and heart.  My husband and this man's son have been friends since they were 8 years old and they practically grew up in each other's houses, so this affected my husband deeply.  Mr. M had surgery and should make a full recovery, but it was scary for awhile since he is in his mid-70's.

*This fall my brother-in-law went to a doctor twice complaining of chronic pain in his leg. He was sent away both times.  By October he was having so much pain in his leg that he took himself to the ER and is still in the hospital two months later.  He has had a series of health problems stringing from the blood clot that went undiagnosed on his first two visits to the doctor. He has now had his entire leg amputated below the knee and is now having other health issues that have had him fighting for his life in recent weeks.  As of Thanksgiving weekend he'd been in the hospital for over 40 days.   Here it is, almost Christmas, and he won't be going home any time soon.  He is only 47.

The reality is that my grandparents are in their 80s, my in-laws are in their 70s, my parents are 59 and we're all getting older.   As rough as 2010 has been, it's both sad and scary to think that years like this are going to become more common as we age and start watching our loved ones get older, too.

I was prepared for my own gray hair and wrinkles . . . I wasn't prepared for my family and friends getting old.