OK, I begrudgingly acknowledge my life's accomplishments are not worthy of Kennedy Center Honors. And my meager baseball skills mean no one will ever cheer for me at Old Timer's Day. Chances are if you're reading this blog, you too don't see yourself being celebrated at Lincoln Center or any baseball stadium.
But if you are a grandparent, you get a day each year - I've even seen situations where celebrations for those folks last a week - to be feted. Does this mean that the rest of us on the bell curve in our third act - however we define that - i.e., those who are not grandparents, are destined to be uncelebrated as we move inexorably toward codger-hood? Isn't it enough we have hips and knees with a limited warranty, libidos with a lower flame, and new liver spots appearing in unexpected and always visible places? Call me a whiner, but this seems cosmically unfair. To hell with that "with age comes wisdom" crap. I've reconciled myself to going unrecognized by the President and baseball fans but this is a bridge too far.
Regular readers who are not grandparents, take note: When I publish my annual August 1 holiday post in 2023, I plan to remedy this injustice and will be enlisting your help. We, the uncelebrated, need a new national holiday and I'll be asking all of you to ensure my 2023 harebrained proposal gets some traction. If I forget before August 1 - oh yeah, there's another thing to add to the hips/knees, libidos, and liver spots older age trifecta, the memory slippage - please remind me. Not you, grandparents; I can hear you gloating from here.
Good afternoon, Pat. As you know, since I've made mention of it many times in previous comments, I am a proud grandparent. And although there is a Grandparents Day, I don't see it is as the same as Fathers and/or Mothers Day. When my kids were younger I used to look forward to the hand made cards, the macaroni and glue creations and all that came with it. Especially when I first became a father. And please don't get me wrong. Being a 'Pop Pop' as my younger grandsons call me, is terrific. But I'm not sure that Grandparents Day has reached the level of Fathers/Mothers Day. At least not yet. But I also support your '2023 harebrained proposal' for a national holiday. And I'm totally with you on that memory slippage thing.
ReplyDeleteBe well,
Bob
"Pop Pop" Bob; So, when I declare next August 1 "Third Act Day" are you prepared to surrender the celebrations you're already entitled to in September as a grandparent? Or, were you planning to be sneaky and double-dip so you can be celebrated on two DIFFERENT third act days of the year, i.e., both August 1 and that September day, whatever the heck it is? Also remember: you get a birthday and Father's Day besides Grandparents Day meaning right now you get celebrated on three days, I get just two (at least until next August 1 anyway), and people in Act Three without children get only one. See what I mean about the unfairness?
Delete