Having older parents was great growing up. Now as an adult, it's made me face my own decision about having children.

• My parents had me when my mom was 42 and my dad was 50 years old.
• Growing up with older parents was great; I was spoiled both by their wealth and life experience.

In many ways, growing up with older parents was awesome.

Having worked hard in their younger years to build up their savings — and, as dual entrepreneurs, working from home well before it was common or cool — my folks had ample time to spend with me, and we weren't hurting for money.

It's fair to say I was totally spoiled. We took regular trips from our Miami-area home to the Florida Keys. One of my Christmas presents in middle school was a horse (like, a real one.)

With their relative wealth of life experience, free time, and discretionary income, my parents were available to me as a child in ways younger parents might simply not have been able to be. I'll always be grateful for that.

But now, 15 years later, having older parents presents some untimely challenges.

Having older parents changed the timeline of my life

My parents had me when they were 42 (mom) and 50 (dad). Today, I'm 33 — which means my mother is 75 years old. My father died two years ago at the age of 80 due to complications after a stroke.

Mom is, fortunately, pretty healthy and active — but she suffers from a chronic pulmonary condition, and COVID is still a thing. She lives in Florida. So, I worry.

Meanwhile, most people in my age cohort have parents — two of them — in their 50s and 60s. Their folks fly out to see them or send pictures from their own travels as they near or enter retirement.

The people I meet with parents my age are usually considerably older than I am and in a considerably different place in their lives.

Aging parents complicate young adult life decisions

At 33, not everyone would call me a "young" adult. Still, some normal life landmarks have been affected by my parents' decision to have me so late in life.

For example, I haven't married yet — but I know that if and when I do, my father won't be there to walk me down the aisle.

It's also impacted, to some extent, my decision-making around having children. I've always leaned no, but watching my childbearing friends rely so heavily on grandma and grandpa — and knowing that wouldn't be an option for me — goes a way toward cementing my decision.

And, of course, there's the looming prospect of needing to move home to be a caretaker. I've established a wonderful life with a vibrant community in a city a six-hour flight from my hometown.

My mother encouraged the move and has always supported my independence. She even explicitly stated that she doesn't ever want to be taken care of. Still, it's a matter in which neither of us may end up having a choice.

Of course, having younger parents doesn't preclude anyone from the experience of their parents' aging process or death — or even necessarily extend the timeline. People get sick and die at all ages, all the time.

And I would never begrudge my parents their decision to have me, regardless of the timeline. I'm glad to be here, and I know it wasn't fully within their control.

But it's true, in my experience, that having a child late in life does set that child up to experience certain challenges before they might otherwise have had to. And my parents' decision to have me when they did has had an effect on decisions of my own.