As I struggle each day to come up with something good to eat, I find it’s harder and harder to cook for just myself. I either make something and eat it for five days or I make something eat it once and throw the rest away. To make some of the things I like to eat, I have to buy so many ingredients to make it and there’s no way I can use them all let alone eat it all.
Then, it dawned on me. I remembered my mom saying how much she hated trying to cook for herself. Hearing that as
a young person I thought she was being overly dramatic. Something many young people do, thinking we’re so much wiser than our parents. And then, the real clincher happened! I thought when did I become my mom?! She was absolutely right. Now that I’m older and cooking for just me, it is true. I can cook, but it isn’t at all what I used to do.
No doubt, I’m not alone in realizing some of the things my parents said when I was young were right! Go figure! When you’re young, it’s easy to just poo poo whatever your parents tell you, but the value of those words, born of experience, ring true as you age.
I realize now, I had no idea what it would be like to be this old. I had no idea that as an old person I’m still looking through my eyes with the eyes and spirit of my young self. The only thing that’s really old is my body. And sometimes my young inner child forgets that and I pay for it later. When I was young, I just figured you’re thinking is old, along with your body but, at least in my case, that’s not true. Inside, I still feel like a 20-something. However, my body has other beliefs.
So if you’re young, let’s say, under 40, give your parents or elderly people, in general, some grace. Maybe we don’t raise our kids the way you’re raising your kids now. We didn’t have the Internet, or all of the gadgets you have now to make parenting easier, but we still have wisdom that applies to many situations.
As I ponder youth, there’s another thing I wish I could help young people truly understand. It’s that it’s so important to live your truth, and not live by what you think other people expect of you. I wish I had realized that in my youth. I could’ve accomplished so many things, because I would have had confidence in my own abilities, and not been afraid of what others were thinking or if they were judging me. I’m sure this will fall on deaf ears to anyone under 40, but, trust me, none of that matters. No one cares what you’re doing. YOU are the only one who needs to care about what you’re doing.
Judy Kaplan Art & Musings 