Timing

Years ago I posted a Blog titled Seventyish about when my wife Mollie was 68, almost 69. She was living in Arizona helping her 92 year old father sell his home and downsize after the death of his wife. Right before closing, the deal fell through because the buyer had been rushed to the hospital with a serious medical condition. I asked Mollie how old the buyer was and she responded, “About our age.” I made the big mistake of casually confirming, “So she’s seventyish?” Such observation was intended as a ray of optimism for the buyer’s recovery because she was quite a bit younger than my father-in-law who was “ninetyish.” But after a long silence on the phone, Mollie rebuked me, “Don’t do that! I hate when you do that.” The conversation went into a downward spiral after that. Mollie still thought we were in our mid 60’s or maybe just plain 60’s. I learned: Never round up an adult’s age. But everything is relative and timing is important. My wife and I are currently 74, so if I refer to us as “seventyish,” this is now a totally acceptable and non controversial term.