I have this running joke with my parents about them getting older. They had me significantly younger than my friends’ parents, which makes the joke even funnier. I’m twenty-four and my parents have just turned fifty, which is so much younger than the majority of other adults I know. I’d say on average they’re about ten to fifteen years younger than everyone else.
I secretly love it because I want my parents to be around for as long as possible. Especially now that we’re all adults and I can really enjoy my time with them. I feel like our relationship has really developed for the better since I became an adult… but the running joke about getting bathroom modifications for seniors still stands – I can’t help myself.
I don’t think they necessarily find the joke funny, but they’re so used to it now. They always let out a tiny chuckle before they pretend to scratch their faces with their middle fingers. It’s really funny. They pretty much expect me to say that joke every time I see them. They would think something was wrong with me if I didn’t make the joke.
Part of me does worry about what will happen when my parents actually get old. I don’t want their health to fail or to lose them in any way shape or form. I don’t want their memories to deteriorate or for them to actually need professional bathroom modifications. In the Sydney CBD, it’s a really common thing for old people to get, which is how the joke started in the first place. We all laugh about it (well mostly I laugh) but the thought of it becoming a reality one day is quite scary. Luckily I should have at least twenty years before that becomes any sort of issue.
I think I’m actually going to ask my parents to write their own blog post about my running joke and see what they have to say.