I can remember a time when I was always the youngest person in the room. No matter the setting (aside from family gatherings), I'd look around and everyone there was older than I. Somewhere around my mid-thirties, the tables turned with an unrelenting surety. From that point onward, I was always the oldest in the crowd. I confess I didn't like the change one bit. Now in my fifties another change has taken place. Almost every person I remember from childhood as one of the "grownups" is gone. A few weeks ago my father's youngest brother Anthony died. This leaves only my Uncle Charles of the seven children born to Anna and Joseph Glorioso. When did all of this happen? When did I become one of the "senior" members of the family? How did I become one of the "grownups"?
One of the hardest things about being a grownup is the inability to ask an elder for advice or assistance. I have a new appreciation for the roles they played in our lives because I have discovered there is no grownup handbook or list of instructions. Like them, I have to do the best I can and hope all turns out well. Did they miss their elders as much as I miss them? Both of my parents are gone; my mother having died too young in 1984 and my father in 2006 at the age of ninety. Now, when I go to the "book of wisdom" and open it's pages I see my reflection as if in a mirror.
On this Father's Day I wish all of the "Grownups" parents or not well. You see, I do understand your situation; I too am a grownup!
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