I take a car ride through the bulbs with my 91-year-old mother. She’s recovering from two flus and two falls, and frail. “I have news, Mom,” I say. “I will retire next year, one year before my AOW date.” It remains silent next to me, it remains silent for a long time. She is clearly struggling to digest this news. “How old I feel now,” she then says, “with a retired child.”
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A version of this article also appeared in the newspaper of April 11, 2023