Millennial Responds to Recent Column
My recent scribbles must have struck a chord because my email inbox blew up. Some of you may remember a column I penned talked about getting back to basics in life; simplifying things, so to speak.
Surprisingly, at least to me, was that a fair amount of feedback came from the millennials and not just my fellow Baby Boomers.
“Your Grandparents grew up in the Great Depression,” a reader wrote me. “So, you grew up loosely connected to it and had a basic awareness of what kind of sacrificing your grandparents and great-grandparents went through. I’ll bet your parents taught you lessons about that. You probably had to save up to buy things and not just put it on a credit card. My dad told me that he used to have a “Christmas Club Account” with his bank for the express purpose of having saved money to buy Christmas presents. We did not have any of that. I’m not blaming you or your generation,” she wrote. “But none of my friends got those lessons at home. We learned by watching our parents – your generation. What we saw was a lot of charging and a lot of immediate gratification. That’s how we grew up.”
Our reader, who asked to be unnamed but told me I could share her message, ended with this: “I agree that we should downsize and simplify, I just don’t know how.”
Let’s be clear here. I am not Abby or any other advice columnist. I’m just a newspaper guy with worn-out Weejuns and the wisdom (or lack thereof) that comes from having been around the block a time or three. So other than the advice I would eagerly share if any school every invited me to speak at graduation – and thank you again Diapers to Diplomas Daycare – I do not profess to be an expert on much of anything. But you know what, I’ll take a shot at this one.
Unplug.
Ok, that’s it. You can stop reading now.
Still here? Sigh. OK, I’ll elaborate.
Turn your phone off.
Have a nice day.
STILL here? C’mon, really? Nowhere else to be?
Really, this isn’t that hard. Simplifying means exactly that – get rid of “complicated” and add “simple.” Take a walk outside instead of perusing social media. Go for a drive in the country without the radio or navigation (if you get lost, it’ll be an adventure). Make a pitcher of lemonade and visit with your neighbor. In person. Wash your car. By hand. In the driveway. With a hose, rag and bucket. Get up early and watch a sunrise. Leave work early and watch a sunset. Get away from city lights and stargaze. Have a talk with The Man Upstairs – listen closely to see if He has a word back.
No offense Reader – or any others in that 30 to 40 age group – but you are all grown up now. Don’t tell me that your parents’ use of a charge card has any bearing on your life now. Maybe they were great role models? Good for you. Maybe they stunk? Get over it. Either way, those days are long gone. The day you turned 18 you became a Bon-a-fide, Cert-i-fied A-dult – with big honking capital letters. For good, bad or indifferent, it’s all yours now. Stop waiting for someone to lead the way and find the answers yourself.
It’s the way life works sweetheart. We get dealt bad hands. We get dealt good hands. That’s reality. It’s what we do with it that matters. My favorite football coach Lou Holtz said it like this: “Life is 10 percent what happens to you and 90 percent how you respond to it.”
Here’s one more question for you. You were quick to share that your inability to simplify is the fault of your parents. Do you just as quickly credit them for the good things? Just asking.
Two cents, which is about how much Timmons said his columns are worth, appears periodically in The Times. Timmons is the chief executive officer of Sagamore News Media, the company that owns The Noblesville Times. He is also a proud Noblesville High School graduate and can be contacted at ttimmons@thetimes24-7.com.