Cathy's Rant of the Day: The Generation Gap

When I was at high school. they had this thing called The Inter-House Drama Competition. Each House would choose a play to perform in front of an auditorium full of over 1,000 people who had paid good money to attend and a you-beaut, proper Theatre Critic was even brought in to educate and announce the prestigious winning House. Needless to say it was a pretty big deal and so, on the first day of Grade 12, I shocked my Home Room teacher, Mrs Kimber, by announcing to the class that over the Christmas Holidays not only had I written the play but that I would also direct it and star in it.

She was shocked mainly because all of our interaction at that stage had been based around her making me remove the rings from my fingers, the black rubber bracelets from my wrists and making me wipe off eyeliner and mascara with special wipes she kept in her desk, so me doing something productive was shocking but she still seemed sceptical as in "what was this crazy young smart ass trying to pull this time...."
She tentatively took my scribbled offerings and told me she would let me know if it was acceptable.
After lunch she gave it back and said " Good work, select a team and get started..I give u total control..."

To cut a long story short my play was called "The Generation Gap" and was based very loosely on my home life, inspired by my daily pondering of "why can't my parents be cooler??"

My Mum: "Have u done ur study?"
"have u checked ur shifts at work?"
"are Rebecca's parents going to be home while ur there?"
"be on the last train!"
"u don't need make up, uv got fresh young skin!"

My Dad: "turn that music down - if u can call it music"
"what on earth are u wearing?"
"a boy rang, and he sounded like an idiot"
"ur going to kill urself in those shoes!"
and my personal favourite (whilst studying my GnR wall of posters):
"i tell all my friends you must want to be a zoo-ologist"

So in the play, the main girl, after being humiliated by her parents lameness, falls asleep and dreams of a world where her parents are cool. The mother (me) and father are transformed into rad party funsters who listen to loud metal, dress in black, smoke and drink and win over the girls friends with their awesomeness.
But, as in all good plays, there was a twist! Her parents are out-cooling the girl!! Her friends want to party with her parents more than with her, her mum has stolen her favourite clothes and nothing is getting done around the house. The girl realises when she awakes that she prefers her boring uncool parents and a happy ending is had for all.

Why am I telling u all this.....?

Because life had imitated art. But again, with a twist!

Yesterday arvo when I was cleaning the kitchen singing along with Blur, having a bit of a boogie my youngest son, Xavier came in and asked me to turn it down and commented that I always played it too loud.
When I was on my way to the Junk Bar on Tuesday night, just as I was getting behind the wheel my eldest, Seven calls down from the deck "ur not driving in those shoes are u?" I looked down at my black platform wedges and shrug and say "yeah.." He asks me to drive carefully and suggests I take them off and put them back on when I arrive.....But Dad....hang on...son.

When we arrived home, there he was again, pointing out that we'd said we'd be home by 11 and it was in fact 20 past..!

His friends come over and always want to play our records, play with our toys and hear our stories of past bands we have seen and funny stories of our own band, and what it was like in the old days (the 80's & 90's).

It just struck me last night after the "turn it down" scenario that when I wrote that play at 16 yrs old I stereotyped parents into what I assumed it would be like to be a parent, but in actual fact it turns out I am more like the mum from the dream sequence, and quite often forget that I'm not still a fun loving, carefree kid. I look around at my children and wonder if its to their detriment that I haven't completely grown up and forgotten what its like to just be me. But the daily positive reinforcement from them that I am indeed "The worlds BEST mother!!" and the fact they both seem pretty damn happy most of the time makes me realise that our version of parenting is working out pretty well and a lot of you are parenting the exact same way with similar results. Perhaps the Genration Gap is actually getting smaller....?

So, its Friday night!? Crank it up folks, crank it up!!!

Cathy wears many hats. Wife, mother of two sons, CEO of Little Monsters Pty Ltd and Cake Pop Queen just to name a few. She subscribes to the theory that Cathiness is next to Godliness. And on Fridays she behaves like a 50s housewife by sedating herself and cooking, baking and ironing, and being nice to her husband. Any other day is a crapshoot.