And now I understand

I keep thinking how awesome things were way back when--when a I was 'little.'

Now I am old, and life is really not about games, but more about how we play the game.  There are consequences for all our actions.

Granted, back when I was 'little' -- there were consequences, but now one misstep is way more severe and leads to numerous repercussions.

I never saw how complicated life was for adults when I was 'little'; my parents and all the other cool grown-ups made it look like they had seamless tasks, priorities, and lives.  I was so jealous when they went out to dinner without us kids on a Saturday night (which was not often at all, but really...why leave the cute kids?!)

When I was maybe 10 years old I saw all my father and mother did for the family.  But, still, I rarely appreciated what they did do because I felt like it didn't affect me, and because I didn't have to do it, it couldn't be that important, right?  And so, I went on my merry childish way. 

Often, as a child, I would be annoyed when I had to do chores...now I see how much those few chores helped out the whole household.  It eliminated one thing from my mother or father's to do list, which I now know is very extensive.  Home ownership and children are not easy ventures.

Both of my parents didn't have much time to relax and enjoy life, instead they were living it and working it.

As a child I would laugh when my parents would get tired at the prime hour of 8 PM.  How can they be tired when the good shows were just coming on TV?  Or the baseball game that my dad waited all day to watch, would rather watch him as he snored off on the couch.  I wasn't tired, how were they so tired?

And now I understand.