I think we receive moments, glimpses of perspective, flickers of our lives as they progress. There are moments of sheer joy, utter contentment, ahas, sadness, grief, loss, confusion, etc.. yada yada.
They really all mean one thing and that is simply, Life goes on. It continues to happen, with or without your buy-in or approval.
When you stop and take note of a moment, when you recognize it for what is, when you twirl it around your subconscious- this is when those moments can equate to either growth or acceptance.
Not profound, but I’m confessing. Sometimes I take my life for granted.
I’ve received a few moments in the last few days that have hit me that my life is continuing and I might have missed some time somewhere.
At the job I do for money, things are always changing. People leave the company, people get hired. The job pool is full of college graduates looking for work. They often end up here. Their ages never meant anything to me-they became my peers, my co-workers and that was that.
Until, that is, this past week, when I received the moments. Two to be exact-same context for both.)
The conversation went something like this;
Newbie, “ You own a boutique? Cool. I’ll have to ask you for ideas for my 16 year old sister’s birthday.”
Me,” Yeah, I’m pretty familiar with that age. My daughter is 16.”
Little Miss
Now, just when did I become the “mom”? My own little sister was 16 once and it seems like yesterday.
Sister and I
The other was a reference from another newbie-her little brother’s age-12.
So at the same time her mom brought her brother home from the hospital, we added Little Mister to our family.
Little Mister
This morning I hear this list on the radio:
http://www.kare11.com/news/national/national_article.aspx?storyid=822664&catid=18
The list consists of how new college students see the world.
The two that really did me in were:
- According to the list, most students entering college this fall were born in 1991.
(1991 was one of the best and most carefree years of my life. I can’t fathom that these kids were just babies when I was trying to look cool with a pack of Salem Lights.)
- They have never had to "shake down" an oral thermometer. (What? I mean this is one gesture that we all copied from our moms. You play house, dolly is sick, you shake the thermometer to take her temperature.)
I’m reduced to sharing “When I was young…” declarations with my own children.
My parents are old in the same way I’ll always be old to my children. It’s all relative.
The best we can hope for then, is to keep our spirits young. I feel like the same 17 year old just with a mortgage, a few added responsibilities, and a different perspective.
So, I’ll continue to take my kid’s temperature “old school”, complete with “shaking it down”-they’ll be able to amaze their friends with the “vintage” technology their mom taught them. I might still be cool. (or whatever the word is these days.)
This is my revenge...(hee, hee). Teach them to mess with tradition.
