Rosemary McLeod, one of the columnists in our local Wellington newspaper (the Dominion Post) misses no opportunity and minces no words in lampooning older men with younger wives and second-time-around children.
Rosemary recently commented as follows on one of our politicians:
'There's nothing as daft as a middle-aged man sucking his tummy in to run about with a woman young enough to be his daughter, and no good can come of protein shakes and egg white omelettes when you're over 50.
There's an age gap of 21 years between Mr Hide and girlfriend Louise Crome, who was first toddling into the infant room with her juice bottle the year he married his first wife.
Watching telly, while nibbling her teddy's ear, she wouldn't have seen much difference at that time between Mr Hide and Barney the purple dinosaur, and she'd have had a point'.
Ouch! Is it inevitably a matter of folie a deux and delayed reckoning?
Actually, for starters - its pretty good that Rodney Hide has got himself back into shape - at the very least, he is likely to save the state money on his geriatric medical care.
But what is the problem with 'mixed-age relationships'?
Well, I have to report that Jane's peers (my Supa Cafe 'Yummy Mummies') are much more relaxed about this issue than Rosemary.
Pressed by one of them for a comparison between rearing Matt & Pete (now 29 & 26) and Sam & Theo (7 & 5), I suggested that:
a. things were now much better for men because they were no longer expected to be the family mainstay and breadwinner
b. as I had aged, I had become much more considerate and patient - and much more interested in positive parenting
c. as the mother of Sam & Theo, Jane loved becoming a mum the more so because it had been delayed - she had had plenty of time to travel and lay the foundations of her career - and finding a man who had 'done it all before' made it that bit easier.
My listener smiled and called me a 'sweetheart'.
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