My Gen-X Files - Special
I’ve discussed how I believe we didn’t start caring about kids until 1992. If you follow me on my premise, I can explain how Gen-X kids were the last generation to regard anything as special. Now, I’m no implying that they felt special; the point is that there are things in America that can be enjoyed and for us they had a bigger punch than the subsequent generations.
First, the holidays. Specifically, Halloween, Christmas, and your birthday. Because there wasn’t an abundance of attention directed toward kids every day of the year, the holiday season was unique and genuinely exciting for a kid. I don’t know too many other kids who had year-long access to candy and treats, so getting a pillowcase full of Crunch bars, Snickers, and cherry-flavored Nerds was a huge deal. I was terrified of trick or treating and knocking on doors but that didn’t stop my bother and I from hitting all the houses we could until our sacks of sugar and food dye and nougat and whatever is in a 3 Musketeers was too heavy to haul.
We looked forward to dressing up and going out there for as long as we could, because that candy would be our stock for the entire autumn. The costumes were unobjectively shittier. You wouldn’t go out as Casper. You would go as a guy in a smock and a cheap mask advertising Casper on your chest.
Christmas was the biggest difference. Is the yuletide gluttony of Christmas over? Has it been overcome by too many indulgences during the rest of the year? My best memories of childhood are of Christmas; when my parents got their shit together for a few days and made it special. I loved everything. The decorating, the tree, the old corny music, the funky cookies. Once a year. That’s it. We may have received a birthday gift but I honestly have no memories of birthday gifts. Christmas outshined everything.
The real treat was Christmas Eve. The anticipation. The chatting in the dark with your brother and hoping you would get cool stuff. I could never sleep. I was jealous of anyone who could sleep. I would watch the clock tick away and impatiently wait for six o’clock in the morning. My parents didn’t set up that time. That was when we decided we waited long enough and it was time to wake up those old farts. After we were forced to wait for coffee to brew and my mother to set the mood with music, we jumped in and freaked out at the best time of the year. Truly, it did not matter what we ended up with. It was special. Different. For us.
A lot has been made of the overstimulation of Millennials and their young ones. Too many hobbies and activities and not enough time to rest and be bored and for soul searching. My guess is that there is a middle road somewhere between a full social calendar for a third grader and an 8- year-old spending his entire Saturday alone watching WWII movies and eating dry Froot Loops out of the box. Gen-Xers couldn’t get whatever they wanted when they wanted it. They had to achingly learn patience. You had to get the physical money and go to the physical store where they sold the physical thing. Home delivery was for a once-a-year shipment from Grandma or pepperoni pizza.
I wrote about the record store experience a few weeks back. I met a Millennial year ago that told me he had the entire Beatles catalogue downloaded and had yet to listen to it. I understand the English words in that sentence, but the reality behind it boggles my mind. My son recently told me he downloaded classic movies and he knocked out The Godfather I and II on his laptop over one weekend.
Life feels more like visiting a tasting menu or a buffet, rather than savoring it. I’m not sure merely checking possessions and experiences off a list is enjoyable at all. I don’t like to veer into this territory because I eventually turn into a crotchety old coot. That’s not it. You won’t hear me say things were better back then. However, I’m talking about a behavior and behaviors can change. I like that vinyl has made a nice little comeback. That makes the music more of a meal. Owning plants, cooking, sewing, and building your own furniture are also big. It’s hands-on. Slower. Deliberate. It makes it more special. Yes, the world is at our fingertips. Mine included. But how much of it do we need?