We plowed the fields Cleaned the toilets Survived the births Fought the battles
Shared the bread
Saved the water
Found the money
Paved the way
Treated like a commodity
Told we have little value
Pushed to leave "our space”
Shelved as “out of date”
Predators circle
Smelling sweet success
Family far away
Tricks no treats
Circling, following, pouncing
Waiting, watching, wondering
Youth is blind
Middle Age wears an eye patch
Old Age is told what to see
Usually sidestepping I decided this time to face the question and see the reaction.
She visibly jumped and immediately reached to put her arm around me even though I'd been walking on my own.
What's with this "age group"?
We were taught it's "not polite' and even "inconsiderate" to ask someone's age, race, educational or marital status.
Closest we've come is asking "Where'd you go to High School?" and that's after a conversation about where someone "grew up" starts.
We "birthed" this Gen and their offspring? They seem to think today is where we've lived consistently.
It takes them time and often it requires a mixed age group for these "Gen Xers," who are actually close on our heels but don't realize it because they're so busy going through life stages they can't see where they are and where they're going.
Death walks in and reasoning walks out the door.
I liked her, I still do, but it amazes me the questions 50 somethings ask directly.
No preparation. Didn't know her name or relationship. A person obviously related; the Memorial Service was very small.
What happened to "polite conversation"?
Manners seem to have moved aside to instant gratification.
Where are the "manners"; not asking "personal questions" we taught?
She seems bright and capable but this "direct question" of someone I just met is far too personal -- would she ask a contemporary what size Bra she wore on first meeting?
I know! She's amazed "people my age" aren't bent over, shuffling and having trouble processing simple sentences.
I like you but you really need to "get out" more and mix with all generations and not just see "growing older" as "getting senile".
Death isn't confined to age groups or "getting older'.
We are all, however, facing that "final curtain" and do not know when it will be drawn across our life. Even for Gen X the day grows closer.
