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For all his years and all the people he'd seen come and go, Henry sometimes forgot that normal humans aged. It was always difficult to realize that, but it was a especially upsetting realization with Abraham. No one should have to see their child die before them, but even more than that, no one should have to see their child grow old while they remain young forever. That was the true curse.
Time seemed to flow uninterrupted for years and years before stopping abruptly at one moment in time. It was always those moments when Henry truly realized how much time had passed, how many years had come and gone, and how much older Abe was getting.
Such times were somewhat welcome, seeing Abe grow out of adolescence and into adulthood and seeing all the wonderful things that entailed. But it got harder as those moments in time meant seeing Abe's hair graying or hearing about how arthritis was starting to bother him or having to slow his steps for his son to keep up.
Henry knew eventually there would come a day when Abraham was gone, but it was even harder to think about that. There was something fundamentally unfair about a world where he would stay forever young while his son aged and died. Instead of dwelling as he was apt to do, he tried to concentrate on the things that stayed the same, Abe's humor and happiness and love.