How depressing!
I went to college again today. Did I mention that I got three assignments back last week - all distictions? Yay me!
Anyway, I may have mentioned that I took the college course partly to keep my brain in gear, partly out of general interest and partly to meet new people. Sadly the new people were not particularly exciting being a) all female (boooring) and b) mostly very young (16, 17, 18 ish). Not to say I don't like them. I get on well with most, and have my own little group to join for lunch and all that, but no real great friendships formed.
My lecturer likes to natter on about her personal life, her kids, new husband (and the wedding), her obsession with Next, which is fine by me & gives the class quite an informal air, and encourages off-topic discussions sometimes. But today we were discussing a court case from 1966, regarding the Barron Knights.
"Most of you will be too young to rememebr them, but has anyone heard of them?" she asked the class at large. A few of us "oldies" nodded our heads sagely, yes, we knew roughly who they were, although we hastened to add that we were not great fans:-)
"Who?" asked one of the youngsters, "I've never heard of them. were they big?"
"They were pretty big in the 60's" replies my lecturer, "ask your mum about them"
"My mum wouldn't know about them either, it's before her time"
"Oh", taken aback slightly, "Yes, but she'll probably have heard of them"
"I don't think so, she was born in the 70's, she wouldn't know about that old stuff"
Whoa! hold it there. Your MOTHER was born in the 70's? And you are sitting here, in a FE college? Damn, how old is your mother?
"she's 35"
Oooooh Kaaay. That's bad, but I can just about cope with being nearly the same age as your mother. I think.
Then I remember. This girl has a baby, a little older than LMD.
I'm old enough to be a ****ing grandmother!
THAT's depressing.
Anyway, I may have mentioned that I took the college course partly to keep my brain in gear, partly out of general interest and partly to meet new people. Sadly the new people were not particularly exciting being a) all female (boooring) and b) mostly very young (16, 17, 18 ish). Not to say I don't like them. I get on well with most, and have my own little group to join for lunch and all that, but no real great friendships formed.
My lecturer likes to natter on about her personal life, her kids, new husband (and the wedding), her obsession with Next, which is fine by me & gives the class quite an informal air, and encourages off-topic discussions sometimes. But today we were discussing a court case from 1966, regarding the Barron Knights.
"Most of you will be too young to rememebr them, but has anyone heard of them?" she asked the class at large. A few of us "oldies" nodded our heads sagely, yes, we knew roughly who they were, although we hastened to add that we were not great fans:-)
"Who?" asked one of the youngsters, "I've never heard of them. were they big?"
"They were pretty big in the 60's" replies my lecturer, "ask your mum about them"
"My mum wouldn't know about them either, it's before her time"
"Oh", taken aback slightly, "Yes, but she'll probably have heard of them"
"I don't think so, she was born in the 70's, she wouldn't know about that old stuff"
Whoa! hold it there. Your MOTHER was born in the 70's? And you are sitting here, in a FE college? Damn, how old is your mother?
"she's 35"
Oooooh Kaaay. That's bad, but I can just about cope with being nearly the same age as your mother. I think.
Then I remember. This girl has a baby, a little older than LMD.
I'm old enough to be a ****ing grandmother!
THAT's depressing.
posted by Juggling Mother @ 2:49 pm
19 Comments:
At Friday, February 03, 2006 4:41:00 pm,
JR said…
I was a "non-traditional" student too went I went back at age 30. It's not easy relating to some of the younger generation, but keep looking, there are some pretty interesting and together young people out there. I've been amazed how aware they are of not only their own time period, but others as well. As for being old enough to be a grandma, most of the women in my family began families at age 18 (sometimes younger!) so we've regularly had 5 generations together at a time. I don't consider being a grandma as somehow being old. When I think of "grandma" I think of a matriarch who gets to see all her descendants become wonderful people to pass her wisdom on to.
At Friday, February 03, 2006 4:46:00 pm,
Juggling Mother said…
My grandmothers were 70 & 80 respectively by the time I learned to walk & talk. in my world, grandparents are OLD!
At Friday, February 03, 2006 5:33:00 pm,
Sadie Lou said…
My mom had me when she was 17. I'm 29 so that makes her a 46 year old grandmother of three. My son just turned 9 so she became a grandmother at 37. She's my best friend.
:)
At Friday, February 03, 2006 6:17:00 pm,
OldLady Of The Hills said…
LOL, LOL, Oh Boy! That is depressing!!! I am sometimes shocked that the 80's which seemed just a minute ago, started 26 years ago!!! Where does it all go???
I too think of Granmothers as being in their 70's...cause that's all I knew...but I do think it's great to be a YOUNG Grandmother...Maybe if I had been one, I wouldn't think it so great! (lol)
At Friday, February 03, 2006 6:30:00 pm,
Anonymous said…
Even if someone had a baby at age 17, I don't think they'd like that kid to become a parent at the same age... it is theoretically possible but then those people are missing something in life... That's why I had to turn 29 before I even thought about a baby, my mom thought I was waaaaaay too old to become a mom. (I don't think my mom would have liked me to be a teenage mom, though! why is life so complicated?) have a nice weekend
At Friday, February 03, 2006 6:50:00 pm,
Juggling Mother said…
I'm not against having babies young - I think there are good and bad points to both arguments (although I don't think it's fair on the children to have babies when both parents are in their 50's or older), it was just the thought that I could be a grandmother. I don't feel old enough to be a mother half the time, let alone a grandmother! Where did the years go?
At Friday, February 03, 2006 7:18:00 pm,
-A said…
It's interesting to see it from your perspective. I just turned twenty and am in my third year of college, working on my education degree. One thing I've learned is that a lot of people come back to school for this particular degree- after having children or whatever. It's overwhelming to be in a situation where everyone is older than you- and I guess that it probably feels the same if you are in the opposite boat.
At Friday, February 03, 2006 9:23:00 pm,
CyberKitten said…
Mrs A quoted: "My mum wouldn't know about them either, it's before her time"
[rotflmao] That's hilarious....
At Friday, February 03, 2006 9:29:00 pm,
Sleepypete said…
The new people on your course are all female ?
Can I join your course ?
At Friday, February 03, 2006 9:30:00 pm,
CyberKitten said…
angela said: It's overwhelming to be in a situation where everyone is older than you- and I guess that it probably feels the same if you are in the opposite boat.
I started my degree when I was 23 [long story] and was the second oldest in that year - lucky for me.. the oldest guy [a mere 3 months my senior] was called 'Gramps'
I took a second degree a few years back and was actually older than my tutor which felt a bit odd.. though I wasn't the oldest in that years intake... he was an impressive 66 years old.
At Friday, February 03, 2006 9:32:00 pm,
CyberKitten said…
sleepypete said: The new people on your course are all female ?
Can I join your course ?
There are actually LOTS of courses that are heavily/mainly female....
At Friday, February 03, 2006 9:48:00 pm,
Juggling Mother said…
There are, but i wasn't expecting a law course to be one of them.
At Saturday, February 04, 2006 2:13:00 pm,
Paste said…
I have to say that in general I am very against young parents both for their sakes and the childrens sake. What on earth does a 18 year old know about parenting? It's hard enough at 30! At 18 you should be thinking about what you can do with your life, what you can achieve, where you can go, what you can see. Not changing nappies for goodness sake.
At Saturday, February 04, 2006 4:44:00 pm,
JR said…
I agree that teenagers shouldn't be parents, but in my mother's time, her mother's and back, they were poor farm folk who seldom got off the farm and there was never any question about their futures, get a job, get a man, raise a family. My mom raised all of us that way, but somehow, a few of us inherited the gypsy gene and wandered far and wide and obtained our educations.
At Sunday, February 05, 2006 3:52:00 pm,
Juggling Mother said…
I think there are good & bad points about young parents - the good point id basically the energy:-) And the physical ability. The bad point is knowledge, life-skills & patience. But then again, it depends on what kind of support is available.
Career wise, I think maybe it's actually easier to have the kids young, then when you're 30ish & the kids are all grown up you can start your career properly, knowing there are not going to be any break & able to be fully commited to 35 years of work.
At Sunday, February 05, 2006 7:40:00 pm,
JR said…
That's what I did, kids first, then back to school, then the career. I thought it would be silly to claw my way up the corporate ladder only to freefall when the kids came and have to start the climb all over again when they were grown. I don't begrudge anyone who does it differently, I just had fertility issues and knew having kids would have to come first.
At Sunday, February 05, 2006 7:42:00 pm,
Juggling Mother said…
freefall. That's what's happening to me right now:-)
At Monday, February 06, 2006 3:01:00 am,
Oh Sheila!!! said…
You are on the bare edge of being a grandmother, but I know what you mean. I just started back taking just one Grad Class this semester after being out of school for several years for working, getting married, starting a family...It's strange for me because I don't LOOK too much older than the other students, but I dress differently, I am there for different reasons, I have different pressures and time constraints and I am actually on a first name basis with the professors there because I go to school at the college where I work....so it's a little strange.
At the same time, I know what it's like to be the younger person, my hubby is 11 years older than me, so consequently are most of our friends. I not only am younger, but I lived a different life than most of them so culturally I'm always unaware or OFF or behind. It's not their fault for being spring chickens, u aren't there to teach but I think they can learn a lot from you regardless...
At Tuesday, February 07, 2006 3:37:00 pm,
Anonymous said…
Oh, posh!
You're as young as you feel, no matter how many children, or grandchildren you have.
I am perpetually 27. I just like that number, it works for me. (grin)
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