• I've only recently begun to think about my mother's age and what it means. • I'm an only child, and we've been through so many things together. We're incredibly close. • Thinking about being without her someday is hard, but I'm also beginning to appreciate aging myself.

My mother opened the door to her apartment, joyful to see me in her doorway. She was wearing an oversize black T-shirt with white cursive across the front that reads: "I can't believe I'm the same age as old people."

I've long accepted that she's no fashionista, but I've only recently begun to grasp that my quirky 76-year-old mother is getting up there in years. (Can we say old? Her shirt says old.)

I've only recently started to grapple with her mortality

I've seen her scrape the edges of mortality many times: Sta

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