I'm the same age my father was when he died. Getting older has been more emotional than I expected.

The author (middle) lost her father when he was 51, and she was 24. Courtesy of Christina Daves My father died when he was 51, and I was 24. When I turned 51, the grief of my father's death hit me all over again. I now often think about the years my father didn't get to live, so I take nothing for granted. The year I turned 51, I wasn't thinking about getting older . I was thinking about my dad. Fifty-one was the last birthday he ever celebrated, and as my own birthday got closer, I couldn't shake the thought that I was about to become the age he never lived past. When my dad died , I was 24, and 51 seemed old. It felt like an age that belonged to parents, not something I would ever have to think about for myself.