Gift of Youth

Recently my mother gave me the nostalgic gift of old photos.

What a scrawny little shit. He's going to enjoy seeing me closer to his age, though.

She also gave me a lock of hair when my uncle gave me my first haircut. My hair is now much darker (although, much lighter in some spots), but it matches his quite well.

That kid in the photos sure seems a world away. I remember some of the occasions, a few with a bit more detail.

Not long ago, I saw my dad show a few old photos to one of his long-time friends... he goes over more detail with them. It isn't that he doesn't want to tell me anything. I think he considers it too boastful to tell me how he flew planes, what he did in college, how he started out his adulthood, and those sorts of stories. I suspect it also has something to do with an uncertainty in how to deal with people from a generation away.

Sometimes I feel the same way with my nephew. What do I tell him? I remember being his age and not knowing what to say to my older relatives. I usually still feel that way. I also remember when I was my nephew's age... when my parents were so terminally uncool. I don't want to say too much. I don't want to say too little. I don't want to be too serious. I don't want to be to cavalier.

For once I should no shut up. ;)