Or Not

A few years ago I was talking to a friend who was a year younger then I am. He and I could have grown up in the same house our backgrounds were that similar. The only difference besides  our parents, was he had two brothers and I had one of each. He got married in his twenties and divorced in his twenties and has one daughter and one grandson. He did enjoy being a grandpa but not being called grandpa. That was funny to me. He said he was too young at 46 to be called grandpa and almost fainted when his then 17 year old daughter told him he was going to be one. He's old school and like almost all parents had the dream of his daughter going to college, graduating having a career, husband, and family in that order. But, apparently as it often does people do things unexpected and your fantasy of what might have been turns to the reality of what it is.

We used to joke about getting older and retirement and seeing the world that we missed while we were working and raising kids and in his case grandkids too. We would vow to change each others depends at 70.  Little did I dream that five or six years later I  would actually be changing and buying depends not for myself but for my mom. The joke and reality of it all is like a different world. 

After my experience with depends I will never joke about that again. Its no joke  for the one wearing them and the one wearing them. 

I no longer talk to this particular friend. I lost contact with him about a year after we had that conversation about retiring and travelling to parts unknown. I  hope he's well as I am. And one day when the last depend is changed I may just do that travelling we talked about  or not.