BUT YOU FORGOT TO REMEMBER

The words of that touching, but rather plaintiff, old Berlin tune meander through my mind as I sit here typing. Saturday in Central Vermont was glorious—the sunshine kissed us lovingly and embraced us with a warm, good-bye hug before she parted from our company on Sunday, leaving a gray, glowering sky behind to replace her bright smile.

 After greeting a coach-load of Kentuckians and Indianans, who declared themselves to be from Kentuckiana, I took them on a tour of the quarry. They were a friendly, welcoming group of folks who reminded me how genuinely satisfying human interaction can be. Once they’d seen the quarry, enjoyed our exhibits and browsed our gift shop, they were off with a collective smile and wave of farewell. That was my cue to bid farewell myself as I left the Visitors Center in the capable hands of staff and headed to pick up Connie and then head for a much-anticipated family reunion.

 There were fifty or so of us reveling in the beautiful weather and the sumptuous, luau-themed buffet, chatting amiably while listening to the delightful giggles of the children as they bounced wildly in the bouncy house. I’d exchanged pleasantries with a dozen or so people when Diane and Ed arrived. I rarely see them, so I was eager to greet them and catch up on family, inquire after their son who is now stationed in Iraq and their two daughters, one of whom is finishing college this year and the other high school.  It was Ed and not Diane who first confided to me that they were a bit apprehensive about being “empty nesters” next year as their youngest child departs for college.

 I then connected with Luke, who graduated two years ago with an engineering degree and now lives in Connecticut; I asked if his domestic skills had improved as he’d been teased by his family because of his lack of cooking skills. He claimed he’d not improved much, but his mother, beaming, steered me to the appetizers and pie he had made and brought as his contribution to the luau buffet. “You’re a better man than I” quipped his father who confessed to living almost exclusively on fried potato for the four years of his bachelorhood.

 So I decided to make subtle inquiry as I spoke to the young people who attended college for the first time this fall and those who were living on their own for the first time to determine their preparedness for life. Did they remember what mom and dad had taught them? Could they fend for themselves?  The results of my very unscientific and informal poll surprised me; the competence factor seemed less gender based than I would have assumed. I figured the girls would be very self-reliant and the boys much less so, especially as regards cooking, cleaning and laundry. But there appeared to be equal numbers of young ladies and young men who’d apparently forgotten the life lessons mom and dad had sought to instill in preparing them for their own independence.

If you have kids in college or who are young graduates new to independence, it might not hurt to determine how deeply your instruction penetrated by asking your young person to participate in this unscientific, but nonetheless revealing, poll:

Please mark each statement as either “True” or “False”.

1. When I was still living at home, an elusive but pragmatic creature called the Toilet Paper Fairy magically replenished the roll when it ran out.

2.  I determine the cleanliness of my clothes by performing the sniff and growl test: If I sniff it and it doesn’t growl back, it’s clean enough to wear.

3. The doorknob is a handy place to keep my underwear.

4.  Several rogue nations are in a bidding war to procure my dirty laundry bag for use as a biological weapon.

5.  Empty pizza boxes are my decorating scheme.

6.  The expiration date on milk is only a suggestion.

7.  I capture and use the sulfurous gas leeching from my eggs to heat my apartment.

If your son or daughter marks four or more of these as “True” it might be time for a parental intervention.

And if you’re about to send an emergency care package, don’t forget that Rock of Ages Visitors Center is a great source for maple syrup, pancake mix, maple candy, and all sorts of VT-made jams and mustards. But sorry, we don’t sell peanut butter, Ramen noodles or pizza.

http://vcshop.rockofages.com/