Entitlement

This makes me sound SO old, but what’s with kids (and some adults) these days? Everyone seems to think they’re owed something. They’re entitled to something.  I don’t get it.  When did that mentality change? I mean, don‘t get me wrong. I remember wanting plenty of things as a kid and thinking that I deserved them (i.e. my own phone line, a Barbie jeep, an older brother that would bring over his hot friends, the list goes on…). But wanting and receiving were almost opposites growing up in our household. We didn’t keep up with the Joneses, the Kardashians, or any other family clan (we couldn’t… we didn’t have cable TV until I was mid-teen). Ok – so we weren’t completely without either… just somewhere in the middle. 

My husband and I live in a neighborhood with a TON of kids. Our household is seriously bringing down the neighborhood average of like 6 kids per house. It’s kind of cool though. Neither one of us grew up in a typical neighborhood.  There weren’t 50 kids to choose from.  We were forced to play with our siblings (thankfully mine’s pretty awesome) and if we were lucky, maybe one other kid lived within 30 miles.  So when we first moved in our house, I was SO excited about the idea. Three years later… I’m annoyed. These aren’t the kids that I had in mind.  These are the entitled kids.  They walk in packs, 5-wide, in the middle of the road and expect, for some reason that I will stop, politely wait for the opposing traffic, and proceed home after my 10 hour day at work. I mean – I would hate to have to trouble them to move. Sometimes they just sit in the middle of the road.  I cannot even begin to express my frustration at this. It is just ridiculous.  Out of everywhere in the entire world I could possibly choose to sit, today or as a kid, I can assure you, I would have never chosen the middle of the road. As I drive by on the other side of the road, I always have a fleeting thought about what would happen if I didn’t move over (but then I realize the consequences, and after I write my congressman about my jail idea – see “The Roof is on Fire” blog, I don’t want to be subject to that kind of torture again). 

So, knowing all of this, you will understand why I woke up completely irritated this morning.  I had a dream that I was driving through my neighborhood and the kids were blocking the entire road.  I came to a complete stop, and they just stood there.  I even honked. Nothing. No response. Nada. I give up. I can’t win with these kids.  Real life. Dream life. They rule the neighborhood. For now, all I can hope is that they don’t read my blog and egg my car.