hola, isabel

My mom was twelve when her youngest sister was born. My aunt Lynn was the youngest of the six kids. Since she was so much younger then my mom, they only lived in the same house until Lynn was six years old. Lynn and my grandma, who was then divorced, was eventually the only ones in the house. I remember visiting my grandma and having my teenage aunt there too. She had a really cool room with lots of stuffed animals that I coveted. She also wore high heels. To me my aunt Lynn was the epitome of cool.

Lynn got married the summer after she graduated high school. She was seventeen years old! I was only five at the time, so I didn’t appreciate how young she was. All I knew was that I got to wear a pretty blue dress to her wedding. After Lynn and Lonnie were married, we still saw a lot of them at my house. I remember Lynn being pregnant with her first baby a few years later and feeling her stomach while she sat on the floor at my mom’s house.

My mom and Lynn are very close. Lynn once told me that they’re close because my mom took the time to nurture the relationship when Lynn was young. (They have a middle sister, but naturally the middle sister gets left out.) Lynn and her family lived over an hour away from us when I was still at home, and yet we saw them a few times a month. We would usually get together and spend entire weekends together. When I was twelve years old Lynn had her second baby. This new baby girl and I were twelve years apart, just like Lynn and my mom.

Although Lynn is twelve years older then I am, it seems that our lives are further apart then that. She had her first baby when she was in her early twenties. I had Babboo when I was in my early thirties. She only has one kid left at home.

Last week Lynn became a grandma when her son and his lovely bride had a sweet baby girl.

While I’m happy for them and excited to meet the baby at Christmas, I admit I’m freaking out a bit here. LYNN IS ONLY TWELVE YEARS OLDER THEN ME AND SHE IS ALREADY A GRANDMA.

And it’s not like Lynn had a baby at fifteen and then her son had a baby at fifteen. All offsprings were born at the usual ages.

I guess this means that Lynn really is old. And if Lynn is old, that would make me old too. TWELVE YEARS, people.

(So maybe twelve years doesn’t seem like a big deal to you. But seriously, I’m freaking out here.)

My own issues aside, congratulations to Lynn for becoming a grandma. And congratulations to my cousin and his new little family.