"So you're turning 10 next month," I said to my grandson Noah the other day. "That's a big deal."
Though it seems like a lifetime ago, I remember the summer that I turned 10. I was excited to be 'growing up' as I looked forward to a new bike, a later bed time and a basement bedroom to myself (although that didn't happen for four more years).
"It's not a big deal Pappa," Noah answered. "Lots of my friends have turned 10 already and they say that unless you live 90 more years, you're going to die as a two digit number."
Yikes! What a way to kill the moment.
And where did that negativity come from?
Fortunately it passed like a fleeting cloud and soon enough sunny talk of sports and swimming and enjoying what's left of summer vacation took over.
Maybe kids today are more realistic than ever before; maybe they don't trust the future as much as we did as children; maybe the fact that they're forced by law to sit in the back seat of a car til well past the age of 10 has made them more cynical. I really don't know.
However, I am confident in this future generation. I am confident in their ingenuity, in their ability to grow with technology, and in their concern for our planet. Indeed, I am confident in youngsters even if some worry about dying as a two digit number.
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