Iliff-King phrasebook Getting old is not much fun (except when compared to the alternative, of course)
Mum – 1980-90s
Pauline Iliff (Dixon) – mother of Mark, JM, G & Bel
As we age we accumulate aches, pains and everlasting health problems. When regaling the latest problem, Mum would fix me with an eye and give me the instruction ‘never get old’. Clearly the alternative is worse as she well knew but I find myself hearing her voice as I travel this path, and get it now. There was a lightness to it acknowledging that this is the price of ageing and well worth it although not easy
—Bel