After Thanksgiving Group Email

They are gone!!! (an after Thanksgiving, e-mail)

Parents and grandparents from related families have a group e-mail, where they discuss strangers. Strangers? Yes, kids that have turned into strangers. They cannot wait for the peace and quiet after Thanksgiving. Most cars will drive out early Sunday morning. Those that flew in, will probably take evening flights.

It’s the same story, generation after generation. The young think they know better than parents, because they have gadgets that make life easier, like using a leaf blower, instead of sweeping the yard or raking leaves. That arrogance also comes from switching environments. Some parents and grandparents have never ventured outside the home city or state. Therefore, they have a narrower view of the world. Television makes it worse. They don’t see anything attractive about living in the city.

Then comes finances. They regard kids as wasteful, while kids think parents are the proverbial Scrooge and misers. Parents are glad the money they invested in kids’ education produces dividends. They are responsible and they show up in emergency financial situations, but parents cannot believe the waste. Parents are soap believers. Therefore, they do not understand how daughters wash their face with liquid from two bottles. Don’t try and tell parents the merits of, a line of credit. There’s no merit. It is living beyond your means.

What kind of stories will parents share in that group email? Take a guess. Christmas is four weeks away, so it will be back to square one. Us and them. The young and the old values.  No problem, as long the difference of opinion does not kill the love. It’s all we got.

Nonqaba waka Msimang

Executive Blogger