In My Day...

I'm using my blog today as a time out. I can feel when I need one, I start to get emotional and fired up and then eventually I call someone and vent for a few hours. To spare this person from my endless ranting, I've placed myself in blogger time out.

Deep breath.

Back in my day, we didn't have facebook to solve our problems. We couldn't post things on our walls that were really meant for other people, hoping they would get the hint and change in some way with out us ever having to say anything. We didn't convince ourselves that a bunch of strangers could settle our disagreements that we had with friends, family or our lovers. We didn't give a flying you know what what this person said about so and so unless that person was directly related to the person and could have some sort of influence on their behavior.

Back in my day, we didn't reward people for shit that they were suppose to do. We had chores. These chores had to be done before we got to do fun stuff. We got allowance that was in no way shape or form fair -- it was like a tease of a lesson: Here is .50 (yes, that's fifty cents!) as a token of what will happen when you get older. You will get paid for doing a job, and you will then have to use that money you have earned to buy things that you need. But since you are a child, and have food, shelter and clothing-- and since I'm a parent and am paying for gas, vacations, and your education as well, here is a token on what real life will sort of be like. Yes, we could get a lot for that .50 -- stuff was dirt cheap back then. Candy was almost ten cents (if not a nickle) and penny candy still existed. You know what we did if we wanted more money? We got a job. Yeah. We got a job. My brother had a paper route he worked every single day on his bike -- even in the winter!, and I babysat. I was eight or nine and I was taking care of toddlers and changing their diapers. Yes, I know times have changed, but I'm just saying if the kids today asked my parents for money for picking up their rooms they would have a hard time sitting that week because their feelings and behind would have taken a bit of a beating.

Back in my day, there was one way of dealing with bullies. And generally speaking, it worked. I have beef with my parents for placing me into situations where I could have used their assistance. That's another blog, but generally speaking, my parents were right in helping me deal with my own problems by first telling me to deal with them. It was not their job to insist that my childhood was the happiest childhood ever. They didn't introduce unnecessary pain, but they didn't protect me from every possible bump and bruise, either. If there was a problem, I would first need to go to the person directly (not make a post about them on facebook, not tweet pics of them in compromising situations, not tell so and so to tell them, etc. etc.) I was instructed to wipe my tears, and go to the person and tell them I didn't like being called that bad N word name. Or go to the teacher myself and ask if I could get help with an assignment. When I stole candy from the store (just because I could), I was told to go back and tell them I had, and then go and take my punishment (I had to sweep the store and replace the candy I had stole). And something amazing happened to me when I was growing up: I learned to fight my own battles, I learned that my actions had consequences, I learned that life sometimes sucked balls, and I learned that I would survive if Kandace Love didn't invite me to her birthday party. And when I became an adult, I then learned that I would survive if a stranger (yes, a stranger) didn't care for me. And I learned that even though I think it's unfair that the store charges too much for whatever purse, bag, or shirt I want, it's not okay to steal it because I will get in trouble even if I'm not caught, and I was taught that life is not fair and sometimes it's not at all happy, but that everything is relative and nothing is really permanent.

Half the issues I see on line seem to be because of a lack of good old home training. Some of the people are downright spoiled. And I get it. I'm spoiled, too. But I know the world does not take kindly to spoiled people. Some people in my life might think I'm cute when I want what I want, but the general population doesn't care about my "needs." They shouldn't. The world doesn't owe you anything. People aren't here for your entertainment because they have their own needs and families and issues. You are not more important than anyone else. Just because you want what you want when you want it does not mean that you should be given what you want when you want it. You are not the center of MY universe, even though you might like to pretend you are. And I say "you" loosely -- I really don't have anyone in mind with this post. This is generally speaking.

We need to get our shit together. Point blank. There would be a whole lot less drama if we just took a look at what people use to do back in my day.

And I hate having to say that because that's what I heard all the time when I was growing up. But it's true.

So there.