I'm in Tucson, AZ for a week visiting my great aunt and uncle with my dad. Have you ever wondered why they're not called grand-uncles? They're on the same generational level as your grandparents, so why is there suddenly a staggered generational prefix? Is it because “Sure, uncles are great, but your parents parents are deserving of a more distinguished title like ‘grand'?”
Anyway, it's hot, dry, sunny, and slow-paced out here on the bottom part of a mountain filled with cacti. It's weird how mountains look more like large rock-climbing playgrounds when they're not covered with trees and thick brush. So if the last thing you ever hear from me is how great the “rock slide” was, rest assured I died confused, but having fun.
Fortunately, my great aunt and uncle (both 89 years old) have a guest house behind they're house, so we get a little more independence. This morning I wandered over to the main house and sat down in the living room with everyone. Somehow my aunt started talking about how her nephew still loves to eat Frosted Cheerios even at 62. We marveled at the childish sugar obsession for a minute, and then, just to show off my maturity, I chimed in, “Well, personally, my favorite cereal is just some good ‘ol fashioned Wheaties.”
My uncle immediately lit up and said, “Oh yeah…that's my favorite. I always slice some banana in there too.”
Trying to run with the connection, I said, “Yeah, I do that too! Cereals really do taste better with fruit, just like all those commercials show.”
“Oh, so you put banana in your cereal too?” My uncle's hearing isn't what it used to be.
“Yeah. Well…this morning I got a little lazy, so I didn't do it.”
Suddenly, complete silence and baffled looks from my aunt and uncle, still processing my reasoning for not putting banana in my cereal.
That's when it struck me: they didn't even know how to interpret my generation's degree of laziness. Not picking up a knife to put 15 slices of banana in your cereal? That's not laziness, that's me not wanting banana in my cereal, right? I mean, we're talking about my great-aunt spending 2 hours cooking dinner the night before while we sipped gin and tonics by the pool, and I can't bring myself to peel back a banana over my cereal for 20 seconds?
And it's true, I really couldn't. I wanted that banana SO BAD, but something inside me said, “Nope, not happening. Save your energy, Court, you could run into one of your dad's wounded soldiers tonight when we're all drinking by the pool. That will require a solid 20 seconds of drinking energy. You'll thank me then.”
Well here's to you, inner monologue, for thinking ahead in times of peace.