Old and Young 27 & 72 Time Warp

     When my father died, in  the bitter cold of St.Agnes' Eve, he was 71 years of age, and I was 27.  I had never thought of him as being young, as he was past 40 when he got married, and was almost a decade older than my mother, who appeared even younger than her age. 
    When my sister died, in the warmth of June, she was 71 years of age, and I was 72.  I had always thought of her as being young, born a year and a half after me, and so always my younger sister. 
     My father, the oldest member of our family,  and my sister, who was the youngest,  were exactly the same age when they died, 71 years and 6 months.  What had once seemed an advanced age was changed to an age far too young to leave.  I was young back then, and unknowing, and  now aware that I and  those who were young with me are now ourselves years beyond the age of 71.