inter-generational knowledge sharing

[jackiew]

As I've mentioned in another post later this year I'm going on a road trip with my mum and my teenage son.

As the three of us don't have the opportunity to enjoy(?) each others company on a regular basis it could be a good chance for us to appreciate each other as people ( rather than parent/child/grandparent/grandson ).

With my mum getting older and living on the other side of the world and my son heading towards the stroppy years when going on holiday with his mum will be totally uncool there might not be too many chances to repeat the experience.

For those of you who've lost parents and grandparents already what do you wish you knew about your parents/grandparents lives? Is there anything you think ... I really should have asked about that?

I guess I'm looking for some conversation starters here.

[echnidna]

Have a good time

[Ben from Vic.]

I guess I'm looking for some conversation starters here.

"Did you put on your clean Burt and Ernie undies that I got out for you?"

Your son doesn't have to dread going on holidays with you. Provided he's willing to put in a little effort, and your willing to try new things (I don't mean drugs and clubbing till 4 in the morning).

If your willing to sometimes be a bit 'younger' for him, you may be able to get him to be a bit more mature for you, and a great time can be had by all.

I presume I coming accross clear as mud.

Of course if he is a bit insecure and unconfident and hates being seen with you at all, you may have your work cut out for you.

Hope you have fun either way.


Ben.

Disclaimer: I'm only young and am drawing on my experiances from my younger years, not my experiances as a perent, which are zero.

[jackiew]

thanks for the input Ben.

If anything I suspect my son would rather that I was a bit more grown up at times - he has to fight me for posession of the boogie board when all the other mums are sat getting skin cancer and reading their novels on the beach. My excuse is that I grew up where it was too cold to go in the water so I'm making up for lost time now I'm in sunny Victoria.

And he gets really aggrieved when I go and see bands that he wouldn't mind seeing himself (Although he did appreciate The Living End stuff I bought him last time when I went to see them ).

[PlanePig]

Don't forget to take the 12 volt lathe with you and " Sunny Victoria " ??????
Planepig

[John Saxton]

Though I came from a large family and respectively whether parent or Grandparent one on one discussions were usually about their feelings of their generations coming through the hard years namely the depression and how they coped.
Topical discussions were about careers/job prospects,the time to leave the home environment/when to strike out on your own,and also their ability to see in you that you dont see or chose to ignore.
What sports you excelled in or had limitations in with perhaps a view to re-define your needs in this area as in your education in the school regime.

I at times tried to draw my father on his wartime experiences but that was a blockage common of his generation.
On other topics such as sport he excelled as in his cabinetmaking and was a willing advocate to pass on what he knew.
I was too young to really appreciate the confidence of my Grandparents but wished they had of had more time in life to pass on some of the wisdom garnered thru life.

The main questions my parents always asked was what makes you happy?What do you want out of life?What are your dreams?where do you see yourself in such and such a years? they reckoned that if you could answer those with a modicom of assurance then you were comfortable with yourself and they were comfortable with the knowledge that you basically knew what you aspired to.

Cheers

[simon c]

jackiew

Knowing you're a Londoner from a previous post you could get your mother to explain that she really did eat jellied eels and whelks and go hop picking in kent and that margate or canvey island were good enough for a holiday when she was young

I still remember my father telling me that when he was at school during the war you always said goodbye to your close friends at the end of the day becuase if there was an air raid overnight there was a chance that one of your friends wouldn't make it in the next day

[jackiew]

simon c,

canvey island was good enough for a holiday when I was young too!!! went there nearly every summer weekend until I was a teenager But thanks for the reminder about the hop-picking, I'll make sure to get mum talking about that.

I missed out on going (born too late) but my mum's family used to go to the same farm every year for many many years and some of them still went even when they were no longer required to pick the hops. My only memory of my visit to the farm was the two holer toilet which to a four year old was very exotic.