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It's happened. I'm an old mom.


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Yesterday, I was sitting around with some of my friends at a church luncheon.

 

It was my dd's 20th birthday. :svengo:

 

We were talking about colleges, and driving, and random other things.

 

While the other mommas chased their little ones in and out of the buffet line. And it hit me. . . .

 

I'm an old mom. I've got a 7 year old, but the majority of my kids are older.

 

Quite something. :tongue_smilie: It was almost like a lightswitch flipped in my head. "You're done having babies. There are no more toddlers to chase. Everyone knows how to read. And add. And subtract."

 

Anyone have a moment like that? It was. . .surreal.

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YEP! BTDT last night when dd called to say they've bumped the wedding up from 2014 to 2013 because he needs to move out of Philadelphia when he graduates and so why move twice. Makes sense...get married and get started instead of maintaining two apartments in two separate cities.

 

SO I'M THE MOTHER OF THE BRIDE AND I HAVE MY MOTHER'S THUNDER THIGHS (the thighs I swore up and down I would never have) TO PROVE IT!!!!!

 

Youngest is 12, doing algebra 1, watching a calculus lecture and loving it, and the middle two are high schoolers making college plans. I'm perimenopausal....

 

I've joined the club. I'm not supposed to be old or feel old because I'm only in my mid-forties, but the reality is I'm suddenly feeling like it's time to buy a dowdy cardigan, knee-high hose so it can sink around my ankles, start my Geritol, and begin shuffling my feet! :glare:

 

I need to shake this off and go find my happy place! I cannot be THAT old!!!!

 

Faith

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LOL, well I have siblings that are almost and just over 20, so I thought they'd keep me young and hip ... but alas, no. They totally failed me, and the epiphany came just yesterday. This thread is totally timely!

 

My boys were brainstorming Halloween costumes. There are four of them, and they've always liked to have a group theme. They were voting between two options, one of which I was completely unfamiliar. It was "Creeper" - I'm like, wha ...??! The dirty old man on the bar hitting on the coeds??! How the heck do they even know about that guy?! What am I doing wrong that they're even WANTING to joke about being that guy??! So I barge in to put the kabosh on that idea, all paranoid that they've stumbled upon what I thought was my secret Lifetime For Women movie addiction.

 

They eventually picked their tired-selves off of the floor, destroyed what was left of my fragile ego with a final laughing fit, then subjected me to a thorough dissection of what a creeper really is - complete with YouTube tutorials and a painful live demonstration. So, long story short: I now know what a creeper is and what that Minecraft thing people have been talking about.

 

I'm old, too LOL. Not just because I didn't know but because I finally reached the point where ... I don't care to!

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Old Mom here too. Actually, I don't feel old, but I just have old kids....

 

This summer we were coaching DD11's softball team. Many of the parents at the games were chasing toddlers and I had one of those epiphany moments like yours. DH and I were the "old parents" there - worrying about sending another kid off to college and teaching a third to drive while the rest were worrying about diapers and whether preschool was a good idea.....

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Yesterday, I was sitting around with some of my friends at a church luncheon.

 

It was my dd's 20th birthday. :svengo:

 

We were talking about colleges, and driving, and random other things.

 

While the other mommas chased their little ones in and out of the buffet line. And it hit me. . . .

 

I'm an old mom. I've got a 7 year old, but the majority of my kids are older.

 

Quite something. :tongue_smilie: It was almost like a lightswitch flipped in my head. "You're done having babies. There are no more toddlers to chase. Everyone knows how to read. And add. And subtract."

 

Anyone have a moment like that? It was. . .surreal.

 

For me it was holding my 1st grand-baby this past June, and having pictures done. I look at the pictures and think "I can't really be a grandma."

 

My youngest just turned 8. My younger siblings are still having babies.

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Yes, and I rejoiced!!! I'm honestly so glad to be done with the baby/toddler/pre-schooler/young kid stage. I'm so happy I don't have to change diapers. I'm so happy I don't have to potty train anyone. I'm so happy not to hear the constant whining of a 3 year old. I'm so happy I am DONE teaching kids how to read!

 

I can go where I want and leave everyone home. I can have hobbies. I can read in peace. I can have wonderful, adult conversations with my kids. I love teaching my sixth grader...we can learn together and it's so fun! I'm so glad that nobody whines in my house anymore. I'm so glad to be done with crying tantrums. I tell my son what assignment to do and he does it. Without the constant need of my immediate presence. I'm so happy to be able to spend uninterrupted time with my dh. Vacations are a joy in my home. Everyone can take care of themselves, pack their own suitcases, follow directions...it's fabulous!

 

Plus, I love parenting teenagers so much more than little kids. My youngest still has two years to go before he's a teen, but I also enjoy upper level elementary. You can almost see their minds expanding as they develop into their own person.

 

Being an old mom is the reward after all those years of mind numbing hard work when they're little. It totally rocks!!! :D

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I'm with you Diane.

 

Surprisingly enough, I'm not actually sad about it! I love the little ones, but. . . well. . . I'm tired. I've been recovering from being pretty sick, and it was SO nice to lie on the sofa yesterday and watch Netflix for 3 hours.

 

There are perks.

 

Like grandbabies. That'll be fun! Eventually. :D

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I'm right there with you. Dh and I brought our soon to be 7 year old dd to the park. We were the oldest ones there. I asked dh if people thought we were her grandparents:tongue_smilie: or if he thought anyone else there had a 20 year old and a 17 year old at home:001_huh:. Most of our friends are now empty nesters and we still have 2 children at home. wouldn't trade our home for anything. I must say though, we have some very interesting dynamics in our home.

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I'm not an 'old' mom yet at only 31yo. But my oldest is almost all and the baby is 4. The reason I feel ok commenting here, is that just this morning I was comforting a 'young' mom who was wondering if she would ever get to sleep again, and if peeing alone was a thing of the past. I was happy to reassure her that she would eventually have time to herself again and soon she would be past the never sleeping stage.

 

I do feel like I've grown up in the last year. My kids aren't babies, I kinda know how to do this parenting thing, I've moved past the 'young mom' stage.

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My husband and I talk about this once a week or so. This summer we found ourselves sitting with friends and noticed that we were the only ones in the group not chasing a toddler, changing a diaper, or feeding someone. It was the strangest sensation! I think the thing we didn't expect at our age is our friends being on their second round of babies. A few are on marriage2 or 3, and are having a second round of kids. I have to say, we are able to enjoy it now that we aren't chasing ours. ;) We just sit and have a beer, smile at their busy -ness, and feel old. The downside is that they need babysitters again! Yesterday we were headed for a pub to watch a game and my husband said, "let's call so and so and see if they want to join us!" then we remembered that cute baby they have now... We will just run by and see them sometime this wek instead. :D

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I'm the young mom compared to the parents of my oldest's friends and the old mom compared to the parents of my younger guy's friends. It's kind of surreal, definitely.

 

It's worse for dh. His children are younger than his younger brother's grandkids. Dh does get mistaken for grandpa all the time. :D

 

I love being past the never sleeping stage, the potty training stage. I'm still in the midst of the whining, tantrum, can't leave them alone stage.

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