Monday, April 16, 2007

Senior Spring....Or Not....

Dad: I don't wanna hear any more of this senioritis bullshit...if you don't try your best to get back on superus you're going to summer school.

( Juicy's thinking: Isn't this how bad movies are started? oh god...)

Juicy: dad...it's senior spring...these grades don't matter.

Dad: yes, they do! they will be on your record for the rest of your life. Trust me, I am an employer and if I'm going to spend $150,000 on someone I want to know they always did their best.

Juicy: But dad, do you have any idea how hard i worked junior year? i was like a hypochondriac caffeine addict. it was not healthy!!!

Dad: well, go back to the caffeine then! i've been doing the caffeine for 50 years and look where I got

Juicy: your Doctor says your at high risk of a heart attack...

Dad: well at least I know I gave it my all

Juicy
: true...

What Juicy wanted to say but kindly didnt to avoid her father's midlife crisis:

Gave it your all for what, huh? for a huge, empty house and a boat that's never big enough? You're never happy. to pay for my education so I could grow up to be just like you? for a highschool average you still remember 30 years later? everytime I talk to you you regret not being a Bill Gates so some part of you clearly feels like you failed something. All you care about is "success" that you measure in social status. Whatever happenned to just enjoying your life? What if I don't mind just being average? I don't need all that. You've been alive for fifty years, how could you not have seen that you can't always give it your best 24/7? That hard work doesn't always pay off? C'mon I know you know that. Yeah maybe I am giving up, and maybe you're not proud of me. But sorry for not jumping back in the ring to fight the good fight when I don't have anything left to fight for.

What Juicy Then Said: Dad...when was the last time you stopped perpetually thinking about the next step and just enjoyed the present?

Dad: You can never stop thinking about the next step; it'll be there before you know it.


That, ladies and gentlemen, is the end of childhood.

1 comment:

Gavrich said...

Summer school? And I thought my parents were overbearing.

Don't be so hard on your father. He makes good points. It is unfortunate to squander one's potential. And remember, the adult equivalent of Senior Spring is called "retirement." It just comes after 25-30 years (on the average) of work, not 3 1/2 years.

As sad as it is, like it or not, we are (if you'll excuse the sappy metaphor) being called to climb out of the comfy bed of childhood. We need to put our feet on the cold time of adulthood, stand up, and get serious. That is not to say that there's no time for fun, but big changes are a-comin'.