Trials and Tangents

[robcallahan]

It's a terrible thing, this having gotten old thing. For example, my days are filled with thoughts like, Did I leave the Iron on, Is that a scratch on my new table, and Will [insert name of] Street help me avoid the bulk of the rush hour traffic better than [insert name of] Avenue, or should I just stay at work until it's over? In all fairness,

Comments

[pjvj]

It is quite odd and unnerving the way certain things will hit that old sense and shout, "ha! olde!" I know these things very well because they started as whispers and grew louder until I paid attention. Stupid things, how they dare they!

The most recent came after this realization: Dave and I were discussing my daughter soon living up the street and the grandson being there for maybe yen years. In ten years the grandson will graduate high school. Ten years! It sounded very soon when put like that. Usually, ten years seems like a decent slot of time when looking forward, but when compared to looking back it shows its quick movement, undeterred by our cries of, "Slow DOWN." But sometimes, when you tie a particular event to those forward ten years it no longer looks reasonably far away, but instead makes that future time as close as tomorrow. Dave and I both looked a bit stunned at the idea of having a grandchild old enough to graduate high school. Our youngest who is "almost 16" looked quite surprised as well. So the rude "you're olde" shout this time? "Wow. You ARE olde!" Bastard voices in my head.

[robcallahan]

This oldness is indeed trying. Doesn't help that I'm managing a workforce who were raised with the expectation that praise would be gushed upon them for the simplest and most mundane accomplishments, as in:

"You did your homework. Great job!"
"You did the dishes. I'm so proud of you!"
"Aw, you got to school on time. Here's twenty bucks!"

Whereas I keep finding myself wanting to start in with a good, old-fashioned, "Back in my day..." Well, I blame the parents. Everyone's kids are coming into the workforce with the expectation that things like showing up on time and working a full shift are above and beyond the call of duty. What's worse, today's toddlers are being taken out for ice cream and having parties thrown in their honor every time they manage to use the training toilet, or at least come close. It's entirely possible that I'll be in some position of management twenty years from now when those kids enter the workforce, and when that day comes I am begging one of you to show up and put me out of my deep, tortured misery once and for all.

[pjvj]

At some point "back in my day..." is no longer a mockery of the 'rents and instead becomes part of regular conversations. (That brings the voices.)

Our kids loved to hate us - no twenty bucks for "A's" in school and why aren't C's" good enough?? ~~WAIL~~

"My friends get paid for A's." "Good, now you know who can pick up the check when you're out with them."

Two things sunk in: Good grades were expected and we suck compared to their friends' parents. Oh wait there is a third, my middle child learned that getting straight A's was a curse that followed you forever. To this day he complains about "hearing about B's" after that and told our youngest not to ever get straight A's because you are screwed for any future B's. I laugh at him. I tell him, "You could get B's in your sleep - so what .... ? You should get praise for that?" He's over it, mostly, and it is a friendly grudge he holds. Good thing, I'm out of Quik-Lime™.

I find the mark of my ability as a parent is that my kids complain about the same things in the current working generation as you do even though they are of that same generation. "Huh? Nine to 5 means you want me here at NINE A.M.??" Their children will be helping you to purge the following generation, too. (See - putting you out of your misery doesn't have to mean getting rid of you.)