The Pendulum Has Swung

Hello Willa, how are you doing on this beautiful autumn day?

I am pretty good Bella Nonna… I got my aches and pains but what's the use in complaining… everyone else seems to be doing enough of that. I was at the County Fair last week and all I heard was how rough parents have it with their children now a days. The way they yell at their children… it's heartbreaking.

I know what you mean Willa, for generations parents have uttered those threatening words "just wait until you have children of your own!" They have cursed their children with so many plagues and misfortunes; it's a wonder the human race is still in existence. I guess it's a good thing children rarely listen to their parent.

Although, over the past several years Willa I have noticed a trend; I find it is not the parents who are issuing the threats, but their children.

Really Bella Nonna…I hadn't noticed?

Oh yes, I heard a seven-year old child tearfully exclaim, "Just wait until I have children of my own and I'm reading them a bedtime story and you want me to sit outside with you and watch the sun set... I'll be the one saying not now... I'm too busy!"

Then three weeks ago while unclogging the mower deck of my garden tractor I heard my neighbor’s sixteen-year old son rattle off this threat, "Fine Dad, you don't have to teach me to drive. But one day I'm gonna have a son of my own and I’m going to teach him how to drive so HE can drive YOU to the old age home."

Just last week Carmen told me her fourteen-year old step-daughter issued this threat, "This is what I've made for dinner. When you start making the dinners, then YOU can decide what we're gonna eat... until then you have two choices...eat it or starve!"

I had no idea that this was happening Bella Nonna … but now that you mention it when I was at the library I watched in amazement as a frustration five-year old boy tried to zipper up his jacket. He kept pleading with his father to help him, but his father just kept reading his newspaper. After about fifteen minutes of unsuccessful trying, the little guy squared his shoulders and exploded, "FINE... the next time I'm reading my Ranger Rick magazine and you need help getting to the next level of your video game, don't expect ME to be there for YOU!" I don't think the little boy's father would have paid any attention to him if the librarian hadn't asked the man to keep his son quiet.

Willa, I have heard many threats being issued throughout my life… some were funny, some were frightening and some made absolutely no sense at all. In fact I thought I had heard them all until just last week while I was taking a walk, I saw a sweet little eighteen-month-old baby standing in the middle of her yard. A beautiful rainbow aura was surrounding her... I'm not sure if it was caused by her inner-spirit or an over loaded disposable diaper. As I was approaching her house I could hear her babbling away at the top of her lungs. How cute and what a vocabulary, I thought. But as I was passing her house I realized she was not babbling... she was setting forth a curse like you wouldn't believe.

"May your tummy come un-tucked in the middle of an important board meeting. May the FDA outlaw Botox and your face end up looking like a Shar-Pei. May you be forced to wear your adult diaper until it has enough tinkle in it to fill the Grand Canyon!" I wasn’t able to hear the rest of her threat because a thunderstorm suddenly came upon us and I had to hightail it back home… at least I think it was a thunderstorm.

Bella Nonna, do you remember when it was the parents that made the rules? What has happened? Somehow parents have lost their children's respect and faith in their wisdom. Why have adults become comfortable with the role of the buffoon in the TV programs children watch? When did letting a child run roughshod over your life become the norm? As a teenager I looked forward to the future with hope and excitement... now that I am here ... I'm not so sure. Parents better stepping up to the plate and start taking responsibility for their obligations to their children. They are not "toys", but precious lives that they were blessed with. It is time for these parents to grow up and shed their selfish ways. I know I sound preachy, but if the human race is to have a future we all better take care of the present generation.