Anxious Parenting
I Changed My Mind, Being an Older Mom Stinks
Besides being exhausted, I now feel sad
“Isn’t the sky a beautiful blue? And look at the view,” my 17-year-old daughter, Char, said as she stood on the Swiss mountainside and gazed over my head. Vibrant green fields, turquoise lakes, and clusters of trees crowded the landscape. The melodic jangle of cowbells filled my ears, almost drowning out my heavy breathing. But not quite.
This hike is killing me! Am I having a heart attack? I looked past her toward the mountain top, nowhere in sight. Am I going to make it?
Char tried to distract me.
“Watch out for the cowpies, Mom,” she said as she effortlessly stepped over a rather large and fragrant specimen.
I slowly approached the same spot, but gravity appeared to have a much stronger pull on my body as it took all my energy to lift my leg high enough and step out far enough to miss the pile.
My universe shifted
Once safely on the other side, I breathed a sigh of relief, bent over, and placed both hands on my…
