Parents impart a lot of wisdom, knowledge and rules over the years. Don’t play in the street, quit locking your brother outside, go practice the piano, etc. There were a lot of rules. For as long as I can remember the “rule” that stands out in my mind most of all though is our family’s version of the golden rule. Thou shall not get married before the age of 25.
This was so ingrained in my brother and I that we never actually considered getting married before that. I had a boyfriend in college and when people would ask me when we were going to get married, I silently thanked my parents for the perfect response, “I’m not allowed to get married until I’m 25.”
By the time the age of 25 rolled around, I had decided that 25 was still much to young to get married. Despite my brother being 3 years younger than me, we both started thinking that 30 sounded like a much better age to start thinking about marriage. Now, with 30 looming, I’m starting to lean towards 35 myself.
For the most part my parents have been pretty good about not pushing me to date and get married in my old age. Every now and again though, they go one step further and put the cart in front of the horse. Everyone I know likes babies. You don’t have to want your own babies, to enjoy them as a general rule. So it should come as no surprise that a pair who are great parents eventually starts thinking about the next generation. That’s right . . . grandkids. I recently started hearing the phrase “When we have grandkids . . .” As in when they have grandkids they’ll get one of those fancy play structures and take them on vacation and buy them the really cool toys.
I really wanted one of those play structures when I was a kid. We had the swing set that wasn’t even cemented into the ground and just about fell over if you swung too high. But I digress . . .
My standard response when my mother brings up grandkids is “Talk to your son,” who is not remotely close to getting married either, much less thinking about kids. In fact, when my brother and I recently had a conversation about who was going to have kids first, it quickly turned into a game of “NOT IT!”
Lucky for us, about 9 months ago my parents acquired a dog. I was shocked when I was at home for Christmas to discover that this was no ordinary dog. This was a child. It got really cold one day so my dad took the dog to work. I’m not entirely sure my dad would have taken my brother and I to work because it was too cold to leave us outside when we were kids. I’m kidding, but I’m trying to give an example of the degree of how child like this dog is for my parents. My mom lets the dog inside, and doesn’t even get super upset when the dog inevitably leaves her mat. The dog can even frequently be seen riding shotgun on the four-wheeler with my dad. To this day, I’ve never even seen the four-wheeler.
You know all those married couples who start thinking they might like to have kids some day so they get a dog as a test run? I feel like this dog just bought my brother and I some serious time on the grandkid front. How long do labs live for? I need to make the most of this get out of jail free card.
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