When I was a kid, I knew everyone’s age and when they were born. I suppose that’s easier when you have friends all the same age or approximate, and you get invited to birthday parties. But I even knew my parents age and did a little celebration with them every year
As an adult, I’ve found that as I started caring less and less about my own birthday and age, the same began to happen to everyone else’s. With some effort, I can remember about what year my parents were born, but when my dad passed 60 I didn’t even treat it as anything special (don’t worry, he didn’t either, he’s not too big on celebrating birthdays) because I didn’t know he was 60! Is that unusual?
How up to date are you on the ages of your parents? Do you still make a big deal at every 5 or 10 years?
I put living parents only as some people may only remember the age of death and some may continue counting to the current year if asked.
Yup, I know my parents exact ages, even though one is dead.
I also know the ages of all my friends, though in the case of birthdays it’s usually just an idea of what month & year they were born, regardless of if they are 5 (my youngest friend) or 63 (my oldest friend.)
I know exactly how old they are (both born in 1954), though none of us make a particularly big deal out of birthdays - a card, a birthday wish, and a cake. That’s that.
My mother died some years ago; my father had his 99th birthday last month, and now talks about getting to his 100th every time I see him – so, yes, I do know, to the day even.
My parents were both exactly 20 when I was born, so it’s incredibly easy to tell how old they are by just adding 20 to my own age. So yes: I’ve always known exactly how old both of my parents were.
I’m with the second group. And I only know my Mom’s year because I’ve been futzing with family tree stuff.
Dad used to brag about how easy figuing his was because he was born on an even decade - 1930. And his mother was 1910. (Oh - Dan and Grandma are dead, but Mom is still tooling right along.)
I know their birthdays (including birth year) by heart. Dad just turned 78 a couple of weeks ago; mom is 71. I didn’t have to do any math to get there; I just know it (in the same way that I know how old my wife is, how many years we’ve been married, and how old my close friends are). I guess it’s never occurred to me that I wouldn’t know my parents’ ages, or that other people wouldn’t know their parents’ birthdates / ages.
Well, my parents are both passed away, but I did know their ages while they were living and not only at the time of their deaths, so I think that qualifies.
They were born in 50 and 51 so while I do have to do “the math” it’s quite easy and to be honest I have to do it for myself too. I forget my age if it’s not a milestone year.