Back In My Day...

When I was a kid, I remember when my dad started many sentences with, "Back in my day...".  I also remember when I hit the point in my life when I started sentences the same way when talking to my god kids.

However, I feel differently about that than I once did.  

Because of the lack of technology, society evolved at a snail's pace 50+ years ago.  The only way to know what someone was doing in another region was via TV, radio, or word of mouth.  That meant a lot of traditions and pastimes stayed intact for a lot longer back then than it does today.  Thanks to the internet, a new trend can start all over the world in a matter of hours as opposed to decades.

My father's generation and the generations prior to it enjoyed fishing and hunting as kids because that was one of few recreational options they had at the time.  Fast forward to my generation and we also enjoyed those things, too.  Until they were replaced by computers, video games, shopping malls and music videos in the 80's.  For me, sitting in front of a computer for hours was the equivalent of my dad sitting on the bank of his favorite fishing hole all day.

As we mature, we want younger people to appreciate and embrace what we once did without taking into account that they deserve a chance to enjoy their pastimes just like we did.  We need to stop putting them down for going to establishments just to take selfies, the music they enjoy, or the fact that they can't function without a smart phone.  We're always going to think that our generation is better just as our parents think that theirs was.

As someone from Generation X, I'll always be thankful that...

• I got through hundreds of mall visits and 12 years of public school without fear of a mass shooting.
• I attended many concerts and comedy shows without fear of a viral infection.
• I got to slow dance in nightclubs.
• I was able to get away with a lot of knuckleheaded things because there weren't cell phone videos.

The list goes on.

Going forward, whenever one of my god kids tells me about something they enjoy doing, I'll refrain from saying "back in my day..." as if to dismiss their pastimes.  I'll save my stories for when I'm asked about it.  After all, they deserve to have their own memories to embrace just as I have mine.  And it's only a matter of time before they're also starting sentences with "Back in my day..."