<p>I was 42 when my son was born (at home! on purpose!), and he’ll be 18 next week. I seem to have gotten a lot older just this last year. But my H is going to try to keep me young by taking me and S backpacking in the Sierras in August. I’ll probably survive, as long as he doesn’t mind if I hike very, very slowly. I’m so looking forward to hearing the sound of boots on rock and smelling those pine trees.</p>
<p>My major stressor, actually, is thinking about being without CC for a couple of weeks. Guess the “real life” adventure will have to suffice. ;-}</p>
<p>Wow, you guys are all my heroes! I had S when I was 30 and there was no way I could have attended to him had I had him later. The way I sleep nowadays, the poor thing would have had to starve. I’ve always slept like a rock, and as I age, I pretty much become comatose when I hit the pillow.</p>
<p>gladmom - Can I send H hiking with you? He dreams of becoming a professional hiking guide but there’s not enough money there to pay for college. Me, I’ll hang out with owlice and the rest and party. :)</p>
<p>I’ll join you in the rockers! I was 36 when #1 (S) was born and 38 when #2 (D) was born. My S is now 20 and our D is 18. H and I had been together for 9 years and married one month before S was born; I was mortified when I found out that in order to be recognized as the father of my child, my significant other would have to name himself on the “Registry of Putative Fathers”! That sounded so sleazy to me, and we also thought it would be a good idea for me to have good health insurance to cover the birth! Sometimes I regret that I caved into convention…I just wasn’t willing to take chances vis-a-vis the legal rights of my children (and their father).</p>
<p>Bethie, more than a couple of years ago the checkout person at the grocery store commented on my “grandchildren.” I suggested that they be sure who they’re talking to before making such assumptions!</p>
<p>mountains: Sure, your H can come with. Then, in case I have trouble carrying my load, your H, my H and S can split it among them. </p>
<p>Don’t be too impressed with my hiking ability. I trudge dutifully to the campsite, then we stay there for a few days. I look at the birds and views while H and S wear themselves out on monster dayhikes. Then we move to the next site and I get to rest again for a day or two, and so on. It’s quite pleasant. My H does all of the cooking and cleaning up, and is just thrilled that I am there with him.</p>
<p>OK, I’ll confess. We’ve been married 24 years. Our synagogue calls up anniversary couples once a month and people were stunned when they heard how long we’ve been married. (Some days, I’m stunned, too. In disbelief.) We were babes in the woods – all of 22. Took seven years to have kids, though, so we actually were not the first on that front.</p>
<p>Well, martharap, I flatter myself that I look younger now than I did at 37, but I’m afraid there’s a bit of denial in that equation. Maybe I just <em>feel</em> younger, even though I don’t.</p>
<p>Gladmom, YAY for the 42-year-old moms! I was 42 when S2 was born. And acme, yes, I am young amongst D’s friends’ parents, and granny among S2’s. </p>
<p>Well, we’ve been married 25 years…and our nest emptied this past fall. After 3 kids in less than 5 years (I was 33 when the last was born) it seems like this past 9 months has been longer than the 23 years that preceded it!</p>
<p>HarrietMW, martharap, bethie, jym-- we are “later bloomers”-- and the good part of having younger kids is that you tend to feel younger because you have to associate with younger people. The hard part is figuring out how the heck I’m going to managing driving my youngest son to/from parties when he’s 16 and staying out late…because I’ll be asleep by 9. He may not have a very fun social life, poor kid.</p>
<p>This is probably the first time in my life I’ve been among the younger moms. I had mine at 29 and 31. Around here, though, that put me squarely in the “older” mom crowd. When my D was in 5th grade, I volunteered in the classroom with another mom who was 29. And I used to work with a woman who was a grandmother at 32. Over the years I’ve met some other similarly advanced age moms, but usually it’s when their youngest was the same age as my older child.</p>
<p>So true, acme. I’m just counting on some kind of technology to come through there, in the intervening ten years. Virtual driving? Hovercrafts? </p>
<p>Also, mountains, re the jacks - good advice. I will keep the Tiny Tux under close supervision until it’s too late for him to make any after-market mods.</p>
<p>mythmom, SO SO SO TRUE. The flower girl in this particular wedding is all excited about her dress, while S & R . . . well, let the bribes begin. (Actually he was really good at the fitting.)</p>
<p>And as for the not letting him eat, that seems like such a good idea. He and I can be hungry and cranky together, since I can’t eat anything if I expect to get away with wearing the dress I hope to wear. </p>
<p>runnersmom and CountingDown, congratulations on those nice big anniversaries! H & I will celebrate 21 next month.</p>
<p>nceph, I was 28 and 31 with my first two. All my hs friend (I went to hs in NC) thought I was a late blooming mom even then, but around the NYC playgrounds, I was the absolute baby of the bunch.</p>
<p>Yeah, I think it’s a somewhat regional thing. I grew up in the D.C. area, and my friends who went south to school were all married and pregnant within a year of graduating from college, and my friends who went north waited much longer than I did.</p>
<p>41 here when D2 was born, She went to first grade when D1 went to college! It was very funny talking with moms in the grade school who were worried about why Suzy could read and I was worried about D1 in college and drinking!</p>
<p>Congrats to wedge’s D and kitkat’s S - two great schools!</p>
<p>Harriet, H and I will be married 21 years too - but in August - and I had my kids when I was 28 and 32, but I waited 5 years before having my first. </p>
<p>By the way, mythmom and jym, you both look great - and jym, I didn’t realize that your H was younger than you, so you both must look young. </p>
<p>Gladmom, I don’t know how you did it! I’m 44 now, and I can’t imagine chasing after a toddler!</p>
<p>gladmom - H will probably volunteer to carry your entire backpack! He carried S in a backpack while going on extreme hikes until S was 5! We had to keep on investing on heavy duty kid carriers. Glutton for punishment, that one.</p>
<p>LIMOM-
In all this silliness, I missed that congrats ar due to wedge and Kitkat. Sorry!
And with your kind comment, I’d say I love you, but given our <em>vast</em> age difference, it’s got te be illegal in some states… </p>
<p>WV… did I say somethig funny?? I think I was serious ;)</p>
<p>Wedgedrive, hooray for another Smithie. Your D and je<em>ne</em>sais_quoi’s D will be so happy is such a great place!</p>
<p>kitkat - You are such an amazing trooper through all this and I certainly don’t think CMU is anything to sneeze at…wow! It’s a great choice! I cannot imagine your H advising a GAP year in leiu of it…craziness!!!</p>
<p>H & I will celebrate our 24th this summer. When we married, I was thin as a rail and he had hair. Somehow I gained (pounds) and he lost (hair)!!!</p>
<p>Finally mailed all the regrets letters today, I thought I should wait just to be absolutely sure. Of course, after this was done today, H decides to have his talk with D…yes, after the fact…he had a bad day. Luckily, she blew him off and said, too late!!! She has strengh and fortitude beyond her years!!! Then he calmed down again and was ok about it again. I have the worst feeling, he’s going to have all kinds of moments between now and when we deliver her to college. It may be a LONG summer. Good news, there will be lots of travel in it.</p>