"40 Years at the kids' table" is what I would title my book if I were to write one. It would be semi-autobiographical. I think it's an excellent name for a book. I would write several chapters about all the different stages in life where I feel I've never quite fit in with the adults. I've always had a child-like zest for fun and collectibles, be it Department 56 villages, or even comic books. I've always sat at the kids' table. Even at 41, I still sit there.
Every year we gather for Christmas at this big old fancy dining room table. Of course, I'll always admire it from the card table I'm sitting at. These days no one at the kids' table is actually a kid. Definitely the younger generations, in their 20s and 30s, but scientifically not kids. We have a lot more fun at the kids' table, at least I think we do. We can make fun of food or burp and no one in the elder dining zone will even hear us. Different table, different rules. While they speak of the economy and the news, we speak of party planning, American Idol and what movies have just come out.
Now I know when my Dad was 41, he didn't have as much of a taste for pop culture, let alone name all four members of u2 or have any idea what video game systems were good for certain types of people. I know gigabytes worth of useless information. Surely my Dad and his peers would not relate at all. My wife and I can drop Seinfeld quotes like they were just uttered by Walter Cronkite. Speaking of Cronkite, I'd just as soon play my Nintendo Wii than watch the evening news. My Dad would just think I was plain crazy.
Funny thing is now -- this 41-year old kid is going to be a Father. I'll have to sit at the kids' table with my baby in order to feed and try to appease as they try to digest the baby food, which must be pretty much like drinking fruit smoothees? This should keep me at the kids' table for at least ten more years. Maybe when my teenager decides not to attend the big family Christmas dinner because of something more fun that I simply would not comprehend, I'll have to brush up on my politics and my world events and prepare to sit with the other adults.
Let me know if you've enjoyed this brief foray into my semi-autobiographical fiction writing. Maybe I'll write more and compile it all into a book. Well, back to planning my village layout for next fall's halloween display!
Every year we gather for Christmas at this big old fancy dining room table. Of course, I'll always admire it from the card table I'm sitting at. These days no one at the kids' table is actually a kid. Definitely the younger generations, in their 20s and 30s, but scientifically not kids. We have a lot more fun at the kids' table, at least I think we do. We can make fun of food or burp and no one in the elder dining zone will even hear us. Different table, different rules. While they speak of the economy and the news, we speak of party planning, American Idol and what movies have just come out.
Now I know when my Dad was 41, he didn't have as much of a taste for pop culture, let alone name all four members of u2 or have any idea what video game systems were good for certain types of people. I know gigabytes worth of useless information. Surely my Dad and his peers would not relate at all. My wife and I can drop Seinfeld quotes like they were just uttered by Walter Cronkite. Speaking of Cronkite, I'd just as soon play my Nintendo Wii than watch the evening news. My Dad would just think I was plain crazy.
Funny thing is now -- this 41-year old kid is going to be a Father. I'll have to sit at the kids' table with my baby in order to feed and try to appease as they try to digest the baby food, which must be pretty much like drinking fruit smoothees? This should keep me at the kids' table for at least ten more years. Maybe when my teenager decides not to attend the big family Christmas dinner because of something more fun that I simply would not comprehend, I'll have to brush up on my politics and my world events and prepare to sit with the other adults.
Let me know if you've enjoyed this brief foray into my semi-autobiographical fiction writing. Maybe I'll write more and compile it all into a book. Well, back to planning my village layout for next fall's halloween display!
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