"When I Was Your Age..."

Just a Quickie...


As I was working out this morning and thinking of family in general, and all of the different relationships we have with one another, out of the recent sad ruminations, a humorous random memory came forth that instilled an instant of pride.

In 22 1/2 years of parenthood I only uttered the phrase, "When I was your age..." one time.  This momentous occasion occurred when my youngest son, Peter, was 14 years old and very desirous and in 'need' of a cell phone.  His two older brothers obtained cell phones when they turned 16 years old, as that was when their father, who was supplying them, deemed them mature enough to care for and need a phone.  Peter did have some good points regarding his social life and his being out and about more than his brothers were at his age, however, I had and expressed my reservations to point out the fact that he needed to demonstrate increased responsibility (like not absent-mindedly washing his iPod with his clothes, and leaving me waiting outside of the band room for him to run in and get something and getting distracted by a movie that he started watching...), and "By the way", it slipped out, "WHEN I WAS YOUR AGE...phones were attached to the wall with a big cord that limited the distance you could travel from the wall (let alone the house!)." Anyhow, of course I got a typical teen response, something like "you are not my age..." or "Yeah, Mom, that was in the Dark Ages..." or something, but mainly I was astounded that I'd actually uttered those words.  The pride comes in not having expressed it since (at least in my conscious awareness.  :-))

He finally gained the rank of cell phone-holder and user by the time he was 15, so succeeded, to a decent degree in proving his responsibility.