The older I get the smarter my father becomes

AresProphet

The Black Hunter wrote: »

As a sixteen year old and an almost total outcast from social groups, I beleive I have pretty good observation skills due to little else to do. Thats not to say I don't get pissy when told to do something or avoid my folks at all times, but i do try to learn as much as possible.

Look, I'm not saying your parents are perfect or anything (nobody is), but you too are missing the point.

The quote in the OP ("The older I get, the smarter my father becomes") does not mean that we should strive to be like our parents. They made mistakes, may still make mistakes. But hopefully, they know what they've done wrong and even if they can't fix it as late in life as they are, they can warn you to not fall into the same trap.

You're 16. You'll soon be on your own in college, at a dorm or wherever. Ask them for advice for living on your own, about simple stuff. Grocery shopping and cooking tips, good habits to get into for studying (if they went to college), basic life skills that, by the age of 35+, most people are pretty good at. I'm willing to bet you'll be impressed.

Later in life you might need advice about a car loan or first-time renting or other things you can't get from school or a book. Again, your parents will probably have good advice.

My father was a high-school dropout who enlisted in the air force during Vietnam. My mother dropped out of college to marry and have kids, and only went back for her degree twenty-two years later. I wouldn't call either of them certified brainiacs, but when it comes to managing a household or finances they are probably the smartest people I know. I'll never take my car to a mechanic so long as my father has a garage and set of tools; he loves working on cars (he was an airplane mechanic in the AF) and it's worth a two hour drive just to bullshit with him while we change brake pads.

I still think a lot of threads in H/A wouldn't even happen if younger posters would just ask their parents. Well, except for relationship advice stuff; people who've been married for 20 years (for that matter, people who've divorced 2+ times) probably aren't the best people to ask for dating and sex tips...

dvsherman

I really envy those of you who seem to have good relationships , and good experiences in childhood and adulthood with your parents. I agree with the sentiment of the OP's post. And to my two children, I hope to be a father they can respect and look up to when they need a role model for life. Reading the posts in here, I have to say that it seems the fathers (and mothers) who are most respected by their children are the ones who are respectable in general.

RiemannLives

Incenjucar wrote: »

I think it would help for people to remember that a lot of our parents grew up in the fifties.

Duck and cover in case of nuclear attack.

Exactly. As I get older (again, 26 and I have a child of my own here) my contempt for that entire generation (and especially for the intellectually lazy like my mother) only grows.

Edit: This is the generation that brought us the phrase "oh, I'm just not technical" as for why they can't even change a battery. Who actually gt way more out of social security than they payed in, who wasted the opportunities of the 60s / 70s then brought us born-again-fucking-christians. The generation of Dubya and his cronies. Generally failures in every aspect of human endeavor.

SkyGheNe

RiemannLives wrote: »

Incenjucar wrote: »

I think it would help for people to remember that a lot of our parents grew up in the fifties.

Duck and cover in case of nuclear attack.

Exactly. As I get older (again, 26 and I have a child of my own here) my contempt for that entire generation (and especially for the intellectually lazy like my mother) only grows.

Edit: This is the generation that brought us the phrase "oh, I'm just not technical" as for why they can't even change a battery. Who actually gt way more out of social security than they payed in, who wasted the opportunities of the 60s / 70s then brought us born-again-fucking-christians. The generation of Dubya and his cronies. Generally failures in every aspect of human endeavor.

There are plenty of stupid people in our generation too.

Just look at amway and it's new reincarnation.

Bill gates is pretty old - look at him.

Dunno - we all think it's terrible because we can recognize their stupidity. Unfortunately, it's harder to spot your own.

Wash

Senjutsu wrote: »

As I've got older I've realized that everyone is human. </pseudo-profundity>

While only 18, I started to realize how human my mother is years ago, mainly because of all the terrible decisions I felt she was making. When I was little I saw her as this person who was above human, invincible almost, and I've found that as I've matured and realized just how mortal she is, I haven't become more sympathetic, just bitter at how much weaker she is than I think she should be.