It was one of those days when the kiddos had work, and I could just sit back and watch them work. One boy decided to sit next to me to converse.
He touched on various topics. I contributed when called upon. Then he came up with the oddest idea.
"I don't want to live to be old and sick. I'd like to die before I reach 55."
They have some odd ideas about age. I commented that 55 isn't old, and there's still so much to do once reaching that age. But he wasn't having it. He figured that's when he'd be too sick to enjoy the rest of his life.
This went back and forth for a bit. Then another boy passed by.
Boy 1: "What age would you like to live to?"
Boy 2: "80."
At which point, a couple other students chimed in with more reasonable ages. So, it was just him.
Ah, the naivete of youth.
Geez, 55! I'm glad it was just him!
ReplyDeleteI was worried. Then the second boy restored my faith in humanity.
DeleteWhen I was young and wild I figured I would either die before fifty or be in the best shape of my life. Alas, the latter isn't true, though I am happy to be healthy and alert at 47.
ReplyDeleteThis is good. When 50 isn't too far off, 55 looks downright young. Which I tried to explain, but the boy wasn't having it.
DeleteFifty-five is old? I'd smack that youngster.
ReplyDeleteI can remember thinking 30 was old when I was in high school!
ReplyDeleteMe too.
DeleteOh wow, 55 isn't old at all lol silly boy
ReplyDeleteYup, silly.
DeleteIt still makes me smile when I think of all the things I wanted to have done by the time I was thirty, as I sit here with thirty-one rapidly approaching with pretty much none of those things checked off.
ReplyDeleteYeah, there's something about 30... I went through the same thing.
DeleteI think a lot of teenagers go through a phase like that, to be honest. 55 sounds incredibly old at that age. I have to agree with Click, I'm closer to 40 than 30 and I thought I'd have done loads by now, but I'm still enjoying it!
ReplyDeleteHe's right. Now that I've turned thirty I'm too old and decrepit to live. Gasp, choke, wheeze.
ReplyDeleteI do remember thinking my mom was "old" when she was in her 50's and I was in my 20's. Now nearing 60, I'm not "old" indeed :)
ReplyDeletebetty
Oh, no! I have less than a decade to go before it should be time to kick the bucket (accordingly to our young man).
ReplyDeleteMe too.
Deletelol. It's good to know he was alone in thinking that the 50s are old. Did you inform him that medicines are improving and people are living longer? :)
ReplyDeletePeople can live longer without needing medicines, even.
DeleteHe knows or knew someone who was around that age when they passed away and it was watching them die. I think he has been affected by this...poor kid
ReplyDeletePossibly. Although, sometimes they just come up with these things on their own. (There's a story about a girl who knew she'd die young...and then did.)
DeleteI like it that he was considering quality over quantity.
ReplyDeleteBut 55? Sure, some don't do well later, but some have great lives then.
DeleteHi Liz - being 30 in those days was ancient ... but old age is in the mind ... I expect he'll change his tune as the 20s, 30s, and 40s creep up on him. I remember thinking I'll never see 2000 or struggle to get there .. and I'd have been 52! Well I'm still around and sincerely hope to be for a while longer!! Fun conversation to have with them slowly joining in - 80 seems much more reasonable, but for them 90 should be a guiding light ... cheers Hilary
ReplyDeleteI can definitely see the kid's point that dying younger is better than living to a miserable old age. But 55, really?!? I guess that does sound pretty ancient to a kid, though.
ReplyDeleteYeah, 55 is barely out of middle age.
DeleteNot trying to be morbid here, but my Mom died when I was 12. Her mother, my grandmother, died when I was 10. Grandma was in a nursing home and in a very bad way. If you had talked to me at age 15, I may have said I didn't want to live as long as my grandma had, or something like that. You really do change your perspective as you age! Now, I'm 64, and, in a way, it's really sobering to think of my Mom dying that young. Yes, young. Alana ramblinwitham.blogspot.com
ReplyDeleteYes, young. Old, I think, is a matter of perspective. It's about how you feel and how many years you have under you.
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