18 is the New 80??
Current mood: thankful
Category: Life
..Ok, we've all heard that 40 is the new 30, 50 is the new 40...but this harsh reality is becoming the new generation's credo... 18 is the new 80...whaaaaaat?!
Yesterday afternoon, I was driving my two teenage sons to their school appointment, the last one of the year. Their "newly-turned" 18 year-old friend was going along for the ride....the kid doesn't have a whole lot to do before he takes off for the Navy in August. He's been spending a lot of time at our house, and is our little one's favorite babysitter.
Anyway, on the way home, a conversation started between the boys about how they were going to take over the world, and death and destruction was going to ensue.....same 'ol, same 'ol.....the most feared and hated neighborhood teenage girl, "Alison" was going to die....blah, blah, blah, blah......
And then our 18 year old friend came out with the declaration that 18 was the new 80....How depressing is that? And I asked him, what does that make us parents? Knowing better than to let him respond first with a smart-ass comment, I offered my willingness to be classified as a wraith, which is a highly respected level of existence. Whew!........my honor was intact, no humility suffered.
It was then that I was reminded that our kids are living in a world that moves too fast. Life happens at an immeasurable speed, and we cannot monitor its process adequately. The demands on our children have multiplied ten-fold, and as a result, the demands on us, their parents, have evolved into an unmanageable, elusive level of non-attainability.
I need to give thanks to Dave right now, for helping us to escape this depressing realization. Our family trip to the countryside gave a "re-birth" to the kids' youth and innocence. They interacted with each other without the aid of an electronic cable or plug-in..
....they gathered eggs from the chickens every morning for breakfast..
....they fed the goats, and took them for walks, which turned into runs when the goats were going back uphill to their pen...
..they were children, enjoying the fresh air, sunshine, and just the joy of being alive in the beautiful backdrop of another time...
Thank you,. baby, for letting our children be children, once again.
I love you....
