M.H. is sick, which means I drove Mik to school today. And since that child doesn’t talk in the morning anyway, I thought we might as well just listen to a podcast. I hit Play on “Happier with Gretchen Rubin,” and off we went.
The hosts started off by talking about how making your bed in the morning is such a great habit to get into, because it’s a small, easy act that makes you feel orderly and in control of your life (and therefore boosts your happiness). Normally I would have been soaking it all in, nodding in agreement, trying to think of even more great ways to feel orderly and in control.
But then I got uncomfortable. What must Mik think of these babbling grown-ups? Had he given one thought in his entire existence to “getting control of his life” or “boosting his happiness”? Of course not. From the perspective of a 14-year-old boy, the entire premise of the podcast is utterly absurd. He didn’t say or do anything, but I could almost feel his vague, baffled contempt.
You know what it was like? It was like that feeling you get when you’re watching TV with your kids and a sex scene comes on: You’re not quite sure how much they understand of this mysterious adult world, but you really hope it’s not too much.
Or a 16 year old at a R rated movie with her parents with suggestive jokes that you understand but are afraid to laugh so that they don't know you understand. The nudity was probably awkward for them.
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