Having moved last year I expect to be DIYing for a while yet. On the principle that a may be alive in 20 years time, possibly 30, but by then I am unlikely to care, so anything that needs doing had best be done now while I still have the inclination and time to enjoy it.
Plus, added to that fact, it's "A Habit Born Out Of Hope", that mothers in general cultivate[1], that her child (yourself in this instance) will survive to enjoy the forthcoming birthday celebrations at the end of said year. It's a little bit unfair to be so dismissive of your mother's pious hope for your survival to your next birthday as to be a matter of "Just some other bollocks".
[1] Mothers carry a heavy burden of responsibility in the rearing of their offspring to a stage of independent adulthood. A premature, infant or juvenile death, would be regarded by most mothers faced with such tragedy as some sort of failing on their part no matter how little they could have done to prevent such a tragedy in the first place. It's only human nature to feel some sense of guilt in such circumstances, even in cases entirely beyond the limits of the best of parental protection.
Parents, mothers particularly, will be protective of their infant offspring so it should come as no surprise that a mother will develop a mindset that regards age as a half filled glass rather than as a half emptied one, hence the tendency to expressions such as "He'll be 47 this October" when it comes to the question of the age of any of their offspring. :-)
Its a trait that people seem to apply to themselves when over a "certain age" (which is slightly woolly in its definition but is typically 75+). Ask a question "how old are you?" and you will be told how old they will be next birthday.
Our attitude to forthcoming birthdays keeps changing as we get older. Initially, it's one of impatience to reach the early milestones of maturity such as 5, 13, 18 and 20 or 21. Thereafter, we're old enough to see the next milestones, 30th and successive decadal birthdays more as reminders of our own mortality and impending demise.
Eventually, once we've come to accept the inevitability of our mortality, typically from age 50 onwards to, as you posited, 75+, our next birthday becomes more and more a matter of 'defiance', hence the response to that question tending to be couched once again in terms of our age at next birthday.
HomeOwnersHub website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here.
All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.