Generations

Generations can go on and on like child,father/mother, grandparents, great-grandparents and even on occasion to great great-grandparents. Considerable traits reside within our legacies, some are welcome, others not as beneficial.

When our grandson had a birthday coming up, my wife went searching for an appropriate card (which at times can be challenging). Here is what she found: Grandson, we may not share the same taste in clothes, or listen to the same music, or enjoy the same hobbies, but there is on thing we’ll always have in common . . .trying to understand your parents. Happy Birthday.

Generations can go in different directions. And there those gaps between generations which may be inevitable or unnatural. What is a delight to behold are multiple generations without gaps or restraints. Would that were the norm, not an exception.

Yes, we do have different tastes, likes and dislikes, preferences and differences. The beauty of it is that generations can and do overcome gaps, hostilities, misunderstandings. We can even smile when we see an old timer driving a sporty vehicle with the license screaming at all within view: I AM DRIVING MY KID’S INHERITANCE.

Generational bliss doesn’t always come naturally. When it is stated to Honor Your Mother and Father, it is not necessarily addressing teenagers and their parents. It also addressed adults who should honor their elderly parents as well as a toddler with somewhat inexperienced parents. When this does happen, generations find it more difficult to rebel.

While walking through a shopping mall, a grand spectacle is a father cuddling their little one while mother browses; a collegian wheeling his grandmother in and out of her favorite stores; a grandfather moseying along with two toddlers in tow. With aunts and uncles, plus cousins and friends adding to the mix, generation gaps could more readily become extinct. Maybe then we’ll see a sign reading I AM DRIVING MY GRANDKID’S HOT ROD FOR THE WEEKEND. Why not?