GOSH, ADULTS THESE DAYS!
My seven year old was at a friend’s birthday party this weekend, which always reminds me of the first one we gave at our house for our older son’s eighth birthday. Twenty five banshees pounding, sprinting, diving, and crashing around our house – each with a cup of some sticky fluid in hand. Wait, why did we agree to this? In different circumstances, I’d probably have repressed the memory by now, but I often reflect upon a moment from that party.
Each time a carload of boys would arrive, they’d sprint up the walk before jamming and wiggling through our front door simultaneously – like puppies. Breathless, most of them would take a quick look around and stop.
“WHOA! CARTER, YOUR HOUSE IS SO COOL!!! AWESOME!”
And boom, they were off to explore, drop toys over the catwalk, write on the chalkboard walls, stick magnets to the bathroom door, crank the stereo (of course), throw paper airplanes out the third floor windows, and crawl along the translucent floors while buddies cheered from below. “Let me try, my turn, my turn!” An indoor jungle gym of untapped potential.
The parents would come in a minute later, take a similar look around, and address my wife and me with a more calculated reaction, delivered in adult code. “Hey, this is really different…must be interesting to live here. What do your neighbors think?” TRANSLATION: What kind of weird maniacs would live in a house like this? Can I even trust my children here?
As our children develop into teens and adults, what happens to our acceptance and even thirst for difference? Don’t get me wrong, I’m not suggesting the masses should have a house like mine nor do I dismiss Tudors and Colonials as safe repetitions of worn European patterns. On the other hand, if kids – without a single exception in my experience – think our home is awesome, what changes after childhood to make people of their parent’s age suspicious?
I don’t have an answer, but I wonder if it has something to do with advertising. Sameness is somewhat ubiquitous in American culture, while regional culture may well be eroding with globalization. Gross oversimplification coming – in general, we eat similar foods, wear similar clothes, covet similar cars/bikes, and hang around with like-minded people. Our homes, when put on the market for consumption, are “depersonalized” so they appeal to the broadest (most beige) tastes. Why do we settle for this kind of life? Most of the people I know crave unique experiences when traveling, eating, or even just exercising. Why not demand it every day in the spaces we occupy?
I’m not going to take up skateboarding anytime soon, and I refuse to limit myself to my boys’ preferred eating habits, but maybe it’s time we try to see the possibilities our second graders see when viewing the world they move through. In fact, I think I’m going go home tonight and spray them both with a garden hose after a game of whiffle ball. In return, maybe they’ll try some escargot.
