When did our children get older than we are?

It was April 5, 1981, a Sunday. I was working for Channel 5 News in New York City and heading to a shoot with my camera crew when the voice of the assignment editor crackled over the radio.
“Mary, your mother called,” he said. “Your sister had the baby.”
“Which sister?” I asked.
“What?’ he replied.
“Which sister?” I reiterated.
“Dunno,” he said.
Margaret and Marian, my identical twin sisters two and a half years younger than I, had gotten pregnant roughly the same week on two different continents. Margaret was in Portugal with her husband Greg. Marian was living in Tucson with her husband Michael (or “Benny”, as we call him) and her toddler son Michael.
By the time they were ready to deliver, Margaret and Marian were both in Tucson. As it turned out, Marian gave birth first, to Louis Rocco (named after his maternal and paternal grandfathers).
On April 9, Margaret gave birth to her first child, Hannah Leah, named after her maternal great-grandmother Hannah Hickey.
Margaret and Marian roomed together at the hospital. There was some sibling rivalry, as I recall. Baby Louis initially had some problems, as I recall, including a big bump on his head. But those issues resolved.
We Amoroso girls have always been wild for babies, and there was much rejoicing over the double blessing of two new family seedlings.
Louis and Hannah didn’t really grow up together. Hannah’s family lived in Romania for two different periods, because Hannah’s dad had diplomatic postings. And they moved to the Washington, DC area, since Greg worked for the Department of State.
Louis’ family lived mostly in Arizona, though there was a 5-year period when they lived in Northern New York so that they could be near Marian’s family.
Many of us were in Maryland for Hannah’s graduation from St Mary’s College in 2003. I remember Margaret introducing us to her new in-laws from her second marriage.
My own firstborn, Matthew, who joined the pack in 1982, became very close to his cousin Lou, and they traveled through Europe together in their early 20s. Matt moved to Phoenix to live with Lou for a short time.
Lou went to work in the restaurant industry. His strong work ethic and sunny disposition have helped him advance.
After college, Hannah went back to school at Johns Hopkins to get her bachelor of science degree in nursing. She works as a surgical nurse and has had graduate training in nursing informatics (using computer technology in nursing).
Hannah lives with her boyfriend Brad in a beautifully renovated rowhouse in Baltimore. Louis patiently waded through the process of buying a “short sale” home outside of Chandler, AZ and now owns a hacienda with pool that he purchased for half its original price.
I have gotten to spend time with Hannah in recent years at my house during the holidays and at Margaret’s house in Maryland for Hannah’s twin nieces’ birthday party in May. Hannah is smart and drole and feisty, and she is the great beauty of the family (although her sisters are right up there in the looks department).
I have seen a lot less of Louis, because he is so far West. But he was here for my son Matt’s wedding, and I am happy to report that he remains a sunny, easy-going guy with awesome people skills. This is the boy whose mother insisted he was potty-trained when he was only two and who peed on my rugs. I guess it added character to the rugs.
And now Louis and Hannah turn 30 this week. They are both responsible and full of life, and are on track to put their elders into nursing homes when we dodder off into the sunset.
Happy birthday, you full-grown flowers of our family.