One day you’ll notice your parents got older. It happened while you were looking at something else.

Change in the people closest to you is too slow to see day by day, so it arrives all at once, usually in a photograph or a moment when somebody takes the stairs differently. Nothing was hidden from you. Gradual things do not announce themselves, and being close to somebody makes them harder to see rather than easier.

Spend ordinary time with the older people in your life while it is still unremarkable. Sit in the kitchen while somebody cooks. Ask one question about their twenties and let the answer run long. If you want a record, record a few minutes of them talking, with their permission.