Did MY Parents do This at 40?

You know those times that you are helping your kids through a tough time and you use the "I have been there, too" story to relate to them. And they nod thoughtfully trying to imagine you in the same stuation they are in, and then realizing to themselves that you are full of shit because there is NO WAY you could POSSIBLY understand what its like to have pants that don't fit right and how the little adjustable straps on the waistband are SUPER scratchy...etc...etc. I mean, sure, in my day the pants didn't have adjustable waistbands like they do now. We had belts. Or our moms would "let them out" or "take them in" to suit our everchanging bodies. Pants weren't made of smooth denim and soft cotton in the 70's. They were made of iron and polyester. You want to talk about uncomfortable, don't get me started. But they were very durable. Try adjusting a seam or sewing a gather in some of the jeans nowadays. Not as easy. Snip one wrong thread, and *poof* the trousers evaporate into a pile of threads. Maybe not that bad, but you get my drift: I know of uncomfortable pants.

Do we ever stop dismissing the possibility that our parents "have been down that road before"? I find myself wondering this more and more lately. Although it is not from my kids' perspective, it's from MY perspective.

I don't know what the 1975 equivalent of Rockband is. Pong? OK. Pong was first introduced around 1975. And we were the first family on our street to have one. And I loved playing it. Did I ever play it with my parents? Not a chance. Now I suppose it is possible that once I was snuggled in my bed at night, my parents would Pong it up for a few hours, but I find that doubtful. But I never witnessed them actually playing it themselves.

Yet, whenever I get the chance, I am jamming with the kids to "You Shook Me All Night Long" on the AC/DC trackpack. Now, I'm sure a social scientist would argue that the pervasive nature of various forms of technology over the past few decades has contributed to the acceptance of technology by the elder generations so my metaphor just doesn't hold up in the wash, unlike my Sears Toughskins corduroy pants (you like how I brought that around? -- me too).

I am now starting to get the eye-rolling from my daughter once in a while. "Daaaaaaaaaad!" Attempting, as young girls are prone to do, to sway her fathers judgement by whining and rolling her eyes and doing that "tsk-awwww" thing. My son, for the time being, still thinks I am the smartest guy alive.