Monday, April 8, 2013

The Letter G

G is for Generation Gap


Generation: the average span of time between the birth of parents and that of their offspring.

Generation Gap: A difference in values and attitudes between one generation and another, especially between young people and their parents.
 

 
Up until the year I turned 15 I never really paid too much attention to how smart my parents were. They were mom and dad and they knew everything. They always knew what was good for me and what I should be doing. It was after I turned 15 that things kind of changed. My parents were not that smart and they certainly didn’t know what was best for me. I was way smarter than they were and they had NO clue what was best for ME. They didn’t understand anything since they were so old. They never had to deal with growing up because they were already grown up. I can remember mumbling under my breath when mom and I were in a heated argument and how ridiculous mom sounded when she told me that she was young once too. That was just soooo not the truth because she had always been my mother. She was never young! She even tried to put a voodoo hex on me by telling me that she hopes one day I would have children that turn out just like me. I laughed because there was NOTHING wrong with me.
When I became an adult and had kids of my own and they turned that magical age where the parent vs. child arguments became a daily occurrence I could honestly understand what my mother meant. Then it hit me…..OMG my mother’s voodoo hex! It really did work…even after all these years!!!!  I can still see my daughter’s eyes rolling back in her head as she was forced to listen AND witness the transformation of me becoming my mother.  When I tried to do as my mother did and remind her that I was young once too and that I wasn’t born her mother that I was a teenager once upon a time, she spit back the words “ya right” in a snarky yet oddly familiar way. My mothers voice was heard even though it was MY lips moving as I sputtered out “I hope one day you have kids that turn out just like you!”
 
 
 
 

7 comments:

HeatherL said...

Teen years are harder than I every imagined! MY 16yo is seriously just a few short steps from getting a one way ticket to Timbuktu! Or a convent. I haven't decided which yet.

JoJo said...

I do see a generation gap between me and my step children but it's not near as bad as with my parents. I clashed, and still clash, w/ my mom constantly. She was raised in the 30s, and i am a only child raised in the 70s and 80s. She refused to roll with the times and still complains how unfair everything is. At least the gap w/ my stepkids is mostly technology-related.

sue said...

I think that hex is why I never had children. My mother did not have a fun loving bone in her body. Luckily dad made up for it

Dana Martin said...

AWESOME!! The funny content had me smiling, but I was also struck by what a great writer you are. Nice tone and timing... made it a very enjoyable read. Cute graphics, too... but it's really how you write that made it so good. I'll definitely be back!

Dana
Waiter, drink please!

orneryswife said...

I LOVE the picture of the two guys and their pants. Too funny!

My mom died when I was 9, so I didn't have those conversations with her. I was still just a kid when my first born came along, so I sort of grew up with her. It was a small gap, to be sure! :)
Happy G day!
tm

Unknown said...

I remember my mother threatening the same thing "I hope you have ten kids just like you". But I look back on myself as a child and I realize I really wasn't that bad. I was loving and caring and kind. And now I'm happy to say, I do have a daughter who is just like me!

Have fun with a-z.

Laeli said...

I heard that one from my mother too. I said it to my son but not to my daughter, she's pretty awesome. my son was a major pain in the ass, ha ha