«My mum has a hard time with some youthful expressions»

I tell

Juna Meyer, 11, lives with her brother Melvin with their mother Simone, 48, and they spend every other weekend with their father André, who is retiring this year.

"My mother has a few wrinkles and her hair is slowly turning grey. But she's young at heart and enjoys doing crazy things, so much so that it's almost embarrassing for us sometimes. Since she finished her training, she has even more zest for life and enjoys being outside with us all the more. We went on a skiing holiday for the fourth year in a row this winter and can afford more trips than some of my schoolmates with younger parents. My mum just doesn't like to go where it's very loud or where there are a lot of people. She prefers to go hiking or biking with us, preferably off the beaten track. My mum is like an older hazelnut: her shell is more sensitive and she tends to get upset because external influences penetrate her core more quickly. She often has no patience to wait for us, even though we are often finished before she is and then just occupy ourselves elsewhere because we are waiting for her. She has difficulty with some youthful expressions, but with us they simply have a different meaning. Sometimes she is also a bit forgetful.

«My mum is young at heart and has fun doing crazy things with us, so sometimes it's almost embarrassing.»

Every other weekend, my brother Melvin and I go to my dad's house. He's older than my friends' fathers, but he gets up to a lot of mischief with us. When we listen to music, he prefers quiet songs and it annoys him when we always want to listen to the same thing. Unfortunately, my father can no longer play football, go bowling or rock climbing with us because his knees are broken. Instead, he wants to go hiking, but we don't really like doing that. When my father retires, he wants to buy an e-bike with suspension and a bike rack for the car. Then he can go into the mountains with us."

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This article is part of the online dossier Late Parents. Read more about questions such as: Why women and men delay having children and what this means for parenting and family life.

Read more in the dossier «Late parents»:

  • We have children later
    Mature parents are more relaxed, more self-confident - and too old to go on adventures with their children. There are many prejudices like these about late parents. The fact is: becoming a parent is being delayed further and further. What does this mean for parenting and family life?
  • «The joy outweighs all the stressful aspects»
    Simone Meyer, 48, and André Notter, 64, both have children from their first marriage. Their children Melvin and Juna are 13 and 11 years old. Simone and André now also live separately.
  • «Some of our friends and acquaintances are already grandparents»
    Susanne Wüthrich, 44, met her husband Daniel, 51, late in life. She now has three children with him, Noel, 7, Anna, 4, and Emilie, 2.