getting old

The older I get, the faster time goes by. College seems like it was last week, high school last year, and kindergarten about five years ago. As I type this, my fingers are succumbing to arthritis, my knee is predicting rain tomorrow, and my eyesight is going down the tubes. It's as if life is passing me by, and I don't even realize it.

But it wasn't always this way. As a child I remember when lunchtime was an eternity away, weekends were like a vacation, and one year felt like two. The only thing that came quickly was bedtime.

A powerful thing

Now I see a year in a child's life for what it really is... a powerful and influential period of time. This fact was very evident during a recent trip over the river and through the woods, to Grandma's (and Grandpa's) house.

Every parent wants their kids to have a 'better life' than they had. But what does this look like in real life? Parents can say things like 'I hope my kids grow up to be happy and healthy,' but both happiness and healthiness leave a lot of room for interpretation.

A wise man once told me that when you have goals, if they aren't measurable, they are worthless. So why should the goals and aspirations parents have for their kids be any different?

When I'm old and grey, I hope to be able to look back upon my life and see that my kids have turned out better than I have. To help me during my time of reflection, I've created a list easily answerable questions.

I am fortunate enough to live in a large metropolitan area that has great libraries. Not only do they have almost any book I've ever looked for (all two of them), but they lend out DVDs. Recently, as I was perusing the rack of movies, I happened to hear something quite disturbing.

Mother: Ooh, they have "The Mighty Ducks!" I bet your father wouldn't mind watching this one.
Son: "The Mighty Ducks?" I've never heard of that movie. What's it about?

Is this what has become of the youth of today? Have they no knowledge of Emilio Estevez? How will they know the sheer greatness of the "triple-deke." A world without quacking is one that I don't think I want to be a part of.

Or maybe it's the realization that I'm not all that young anymore that frightens me. The classic rock stations now play bands like The Smashing Pumpkins and Nirvana. Plus the kids don't understand when you say things like "shampoo is better," or "Hey Tommy, quit playing with your dingy."

I guess the journey has begun. I'm on my way to becoming a bona fide adult, which is weird, because it seems like I just graduated from high school. I'm left wondering when did this all happen?