{"id":7035,"date":"2022-08-12T07:30:39","date_gmt":"2022-08-12T11:30:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.silvercentury.org\/?p=7035"},"modified":"2022-08-12T07:30:39","modified_gmt":"2022-08-12T11:30:39","slug":"keep-up","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/78.142.243.82\/~silvercentury\/2022\/08\/keep-up\/","title":{"rendered":"Keep Up!"},"content":{"rendered":"

When chatting with others, do you ever struggle to feel \u201cin the know\u201d? This is how I\u2019ve been feeling about my place in society lately. The world is changing, and I don\u2019t want to be left behind. <\/span><\/p>\n

My daughters do their best in their quest to keep me current, albeit not without eye rolls. When my husband died, leaving me a single mother, it was more of a challenge to stay current with news and culture, but once the kids had earphones, I was free to listen to NPR or escape with a best seller. I disavowed those \u201cwhen-I-was-your-age\u201d admonitions, but I had many occasions when I recognized their world was very different from the one in which I grew up. I enjoyed my kids\u2019 music, in contrast with the arguments I had with my parents about the hippie sounds of the lawless, morality-free \u02bc60s. <\/span><\/p>\n

I could count on my daughters to help me with technology. \u201cHow many times do I have to show you\u2026\u201d came from the child, not the parent. (Really? I taught you how to use a spoon.) As they grew older, more changes became harder for me to process, not the least of which revolved around appropriate attire. Did they miss the lesson on modesty, or did I miss the lesson on freedom of expression? I couldn\u2019t keep up.<\/span><\/p>\n

One daughter had a beau over for a movie and make-out. I felt compelled to remind them I was in the house, party pooper that I am. The young man was African American, and I was caught in thoughts about how far we\u2019ve come. I told her that young Black men were lynched for less when I was in high school in the \u02bc70s, and my daughter was shocked to realize just how recently mind-sets have changed. On this matter, I can say I have kept up. <\/span><\/p>\n

A decade ago, my 14-year-old daughter asked me if she could get her belly button pierced and I agreed. I was vilified by many. Today I have friends who accompany their kids to get matching tattoos. I\u2019m trying to keep up. <\/span><\/p>\n

I experience challenges around language that I hope to overcome. I\u2019ve had a lifetime of using terms that I now know to be offensive to others. I accidentally asked a new high school grad if they felt \u201cgypped\u201d out of their rites of passage by COVID. I caught it and apologized. When I was rebuked by my daughter for saying \u201clame excuse,\u201d I was taken to task: refrain from ableist language. Not quite there yet.<\/span><\/p>\n

I may not master current practices, but I do want to stay relevant and, of course, respectful, and that\u2019s going to take some open-mindedness and gentle reminders. But let it be known that I am determined to keep up.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When chatting with others, do you ever struggle to feel \u201cin the know\u201d? This is how I\u2019ve been feeling about my place in society lately. The world is changing, and I don\u2019t want to be left behind.  My daughters do…<\/span><\/p>\n

Read more Keep Up!<\/span> ›<\/span><\/a><\/div>\n

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