It Doesn't matter how old you are...

...most people will never be ready to lose a parent.  I read article about how one grieving Millenial encountered other generations in the workplace after her mother;s death.  You can find  it here: How Millenials Mourn. It is a great, brave, and honest piece and I would recommend reading it if you get the chance. There was one thing that I took issue with and that is the author, Emily, spoke about the frustration of encountering older co-workers sharing about the loss of their own parents- something that Emily had a hard time relating to. I can understand that- I used to think that as we got older, we became wiser, we became more emotionally mature and understood that loss was inevitable and that our parents would not live forever...But as I am older, at least older than I once was-aren't we all for that matter?, I am realizing that our bodies and faces might age and we might have more stories to tell ( if we can remember them all, and if not half stories to tell) that emotionally most of us stay as adolescents. Whether we love our parents, hate our parents, hold both feelings or fall somewhere along a spectrum between the two, we are never quite ready-whether we are 25, 28, 52, or 82...to let our parents go.  When I was in college, my beloved college President Jay Kessler, shared after the death of his mother "You are never old enough to lose a parent."  It is as true now as ever. Losing a parent will change your life forever-no matter how much life you have left to live.