OK. Who had children later in life? Raise your hands.
OK. Who thought it would be easier and found out that’s a bunch of bull?
I had my youngest son, Indy, when I was 40. I turned 41 later that year, and then I tied my tubes. Mostly because I didn’t want to be on birth control anymore, but also because I didn’t feel I had the energy to parent a newborn after that.
The experience was very different from when I had my twins 10 years earlier. That youngest baby kicked my and my husband’s butt. The energy level was that different. I told my husband before Indy was born there was no way I could handle late-night feedings. My amazing husband did most of them. I still remember one night in our tiny kitchen: I was cooking dinner, he was holding the baby, and he just looked done — absolutely done.
Once we got past those years, Steve often said Indy kept us young. We were in our 40s with a toddler, then a kindergartener, then a fifth grader. He carried Indy into school even in second grade, saying he’d do it as long as Indy wanted, because someday it would be the last time. By the time we hit our 50s, Indy was starting middle school.
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