I was sitting here thinking and I realized a few things.
One in particular is that I am old.
It isn't because I have had a birthday or I have reached any other milestone. It is simply because I am hearing things come out of my mouth that I have heard my elders say in the past.
What are you doing in school?
This is what is said by old people to anyone who is either of high school or college age. In most cases, it is said when the old person has no other clue what to say. School is usually interesting, so most frequently, they go with that. This is because you can always add "Ohhhh! What instrument do you play?" or a "What is your favorite subject?" in there if there is a lull in the conversation. My kids personally despise being asked this question by their elders. Maybe that is why I ask it.
When I Was Your Age....
This is a parental phrase. Believe me, I have used this!! The reason why I think it is so ingrained in my head is that my parents shared many delightful aspects of their childhood with me in this way. My mother and father were depression babies. While my father was a bit more well off, my mother grew up on farms and had a difficult life. She did not have indoor plumbing until high school and they rose before dawn and spent their evenings in the kitchen by the light of the stove. She really did walk about 5 miles to school and it was uphill both ways. She walked in deep snow and they would take their shoes off to dry by the stove at school. My mother attended a few one-room schoolhouses and even showed us one. It was converted to a garage. My mother had one doll and I think two dresses. There were three at the most. My father's walk to school was accompanied by hissing geese.
These days, my version of the phrase is accompanied by "I didn't have a _________ until I was age _____" or "_______wasn't even invented when I was growing up." My children thoroughly enjoy these little snippets of my childhood.
"My....have you grown" or "Have you grown?"
This is said by old people that you haven't seen in awhile. Since my dad was a minister, we would move quite a bit. Often, my parents would visit parishioners after we had moved away. Quite often I would hear about the exploits of my life when I was 2yo. Of course, I would turn beet red and want to run for the nearest bathroom for an excuse to escape. The height comment is usually reserved for relatives that you have seen more recently. On occasion, these comments will be accompanied by "you look/sound just like your mother/father." Years ago I did manage to utterly humiliate a pair of teenage boys who I had watched at church when they were 4yo or so. They were my favorites, so you can imagine the comments that rolled off of my tongue. More recently, I did ask a young teen the height question. The look that she gave me confirmed that I was ooooolllllld!!!
I still have not asked dumb questions about new clothing labels/brands. Hopefully, I will not be doing that for awhile. My grandmother asked me once if "Lee" was the name of my boyfriend since his name was on the back of my pants. Knowing her, she probably felt that was completely inappropriate, but she was nice enough not to express her disapproval. I do think that those big eagles on a certain clothing brand are a bit too much. Oh, and I think that scream-o is a ridiculous name for a musical genre. I think thrash metal or heavy metal are much better choices. Scream-o sounds a bit juvenile to me.
But.....of course I am old now, so I leave the scream-o to the little kids!! :D
