Monday, January 12, 2009

Turning into OLD PEOPLE

It's a Sunday evening and I'm folding laundry as 60 minutes comes on tv, and as I listen to the stories presented for the evenings show I am highly interested, even though they are topics some would find horribly boring:  politics, war, Haiti, and such.  So I rush to get the socks to sort while I watch, and it occurs to me... I HAVE BECOME MY PARENTS!

Not in any negative sense of the word.  Let me explain.  Growing up as a child there were certain things that made me vocalize my, then teenage, outspoken opinion: Country Music (the old "twangy" kind), News programs... on the radio or on tv, going to bed BEFORE TEN???  These are just a few examples, but they make my point. 
 
I now listen to that twangy country stuff... the new Taylor Swift is good, but just doesn't hold a candle to some good old Eddy Arnold, Hank Snow, or Charlie Pride, although my husband doesn't agree with me.  

News programs are now my FAVORITES to watch (right after Law & Order), and they are set on auto-record on my dvr.  Favorite radio station to listen to?  NPR.  Yes, the same NPR that used to have me MOANING in the back seat of dad's truck, praying he would accidently switch the channel to something "teenage" worthy.

Bedtime?  9:30-10.  Yeah, I must be getting old.  My kids don't pull any punches on letting me know it either.  But when LIFE happens before 7am, early bedtime is a requirement.

So it just leaves me wondering... WHEN exactly is it that we turn into our parents?  Is it a conscious choice or is it just the reality of realizing we are getting older, and therefore long for reminders of earlier times?  Whatever it is... I can't say I mind much.

5 comments:

Nathan and Shanna said...

Isn't it funny how things we say we are never going to do, we actually end up doing! But I have to say you're not getting to much older you're just getting wiser!

LaurieJ said...

I saw a wall hanging that said 'mirror mirror on the wall, I am my mother after all!'

So true :-)

LaurieJ said...

Oh, your family picture is so great :-)

Calvin said...

I wonder if those who work with youth are hyper aware of the shift. Our parents are who taught us what is normal and good, hopefully, so as priorities change, it makes sense that we emulate the primary examples set before us. Sometimes that is good, sometimes probably not.

Heather C. said...

I too, am my parents. I listen to NPR, do crossword puzzles and watch nature programs. All voluntarily! I still have a little bit of a grip on my kids--for a few more years anyway, they love to listen to Johnny Cash, Patsy Cline and Hank Williams!

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