Monday Musings...
Well, we're almost at Thanksgiving, and then....the dreaded Christmas shopping season beginning the day after (when we're still suffering from triptophan hangovers...lol).
If there is ONE thing getting older has in it's favor (aside from chasing kids off the damn lawn), it's that we have a lot fewer gifts to get, especially if your family is a small one.
Now, I love giving gifts...and I love getting gifts, but there does come a time when you suddenly realize that GIFTS are not the hub around which the holidays revolve.
You tend to value FAMILY a lot more...and the nuances you've accrued over the years that make this time of year a lot more special, or at least AS SPECIAL as you remember as a child.
But with time, comes change (unfortunately).
Kids grow up and move away and start their own families. Friends can also move away, pass away, or just fade away.
The same is said for relatives, sadly.
Now this is one of those times where Doc Brown's DeLorean would come in REAL handy.
Be great to revisit those times past, because no matter how much we try and no matter what we do, it just doesn't seem "the same".
And this is a case where "sameness" has it's place.
Many would argue that routine or rote promotes boredom or apathy.
Depends on the routine, doesn't it?
If there is TEDIUM involved, then I would say that ANY routine gets real old...real fast.
But if there was anticipation, joy, and an overall sense of belonging, then no matter HOW MANY TIMES you replay that routine, it just NEVER gets old.
Now, I know I'm not the first person to say this, and I certainly will NOT be the last, but when you look about you TODAY, do you ever get a sense of not being in the "right time"?
Ever have that feeling that NOW doesn't seem as right as THEN was?
You have to admit that when you try to take in ALL the crap that's been floating around us these days, it makes you wonder...a lot.
When what YOU used to know as LOGIC has been replaced by IDIOCY.
When COMMON SENSE is supplanted by NONSENSE, it stops you in your tracks.
Now, you know this SHOULD be the same world you grew up in, but somewhere along the way, things changed.
I mean all we really need is to have dogs living with cats to make it all fit, right?
I know I struggle with this from time to time.
This sure doesn't resemble the world I grew up in.
It's gotten a lot more..."complex".
Sure, the shores are still there, as are the rivers, woods, and even Death Valley, but a lot more HAS changed.
PEOPLE have changed.
And I suppose our "technocracy" shoulders most of the blame.
The advances in technologies have far surpassed our ability to properly use them, but we got 'em none the less.
Things that should be bringing people together and closer, are making us a generation of "stand-offs".
Households are dumping land line phones like a bad habit, for cell phones.
People rarely (if ever) WRITE LETTERS to each other (better to email or better still..."tweet me, baby").
And I truly believe that the art of conversation is going the way of the passenger pigeon.
Children are also not exempt from this...
The toys that we had as kids that really fostered REAL INTERACTIVITY and CREATIVITY and been changed out for some game box they can lounge on the sofa and play all day and night.
If we wanted to play an arcade game...we WALKED to the ARCADE and plunked down our quarters.
So, we "spent" wisely, and didn't frequent the arcades with any type of regularity...we had something called homework and chores to busy up our time.
See...that's what I mean about feeling in the "wrong time".
The values we were brought up with seem Victorian in nature, and behavior that would land our asses either in jail, or at least having the "board of education" applied to our "seat of knowledge" is a lot more accepted. Kids will be kids, after all.
Well, today's kids are a far cry from "our" kids of "our" era.
You have a "kid" that shoots and kills someone, and people that know him say "Yeah, he's cool"...
"He's a good guy..."
"He's never been a problem..."
We've heard this all before, and with the same results...
When did all this lunacy begin, and WHY did people ALLOW it in the first place?
Were we too busy stroking the egos of these children to see the damage we were doing as a result of withholding proper discipline rather than extolling honorable behavior?
Did we bother to teach them with INTEGRITY means?
Did we teach them about personal accountability and being responsible?
Well, some of you DID...and congrats to every one of you!
To those that left parenting up to everyone else...well, you got what you paid for, didn't you?
Yeah, somehow, when I think about this stuff, the holidays seem to be missing something...wonder why that is?
The marvel in children's' eyes...the wonder...the innocence....a lot of it is lacking today.
I suppose it's up to us "older people" to rekindle the child in every one of us, and somehow pass that along, so that people don't forget.
God knows, in today's' rush-a-minute society, we need all the assistance we can find.
Stay safe out there, America.