The Differing Perspectives of a Five and Seventy Year Old

Today is my father’s birthday, you’ve all heard him on the podcast way back when we first started, and yesterday was my daughter’s birthday. They both hit what I deem to be “milestone” birthdays. Let’s talk about it.

My dad is now 70. That’s a good amount of time. He’s seen a lot. He was in the Navy, he’s traveled everywhere, he worked at Boeing, he’s done so many things. He’s also the person I aspire to be. I look up to my dad. I always have, and I always will. He’s the best, hands down. He is my idol. He is my role model. My daughter turned 5. That may not seem like a “milestone” birthday, but to me it is. She will be a kindergartner next year. She will have a full school day. I’ve been with her her whole life. I was deep into being a stay at home dad when she was born, and I still claim that as my current job, because that’s what I am. And with the pandemic, the time I spend with her had tripled. We are basically best friends at this point. I see her more than anyone else in my home, including my wife and son. But next year, hopefully, she will be in school full time, as will my son, and my wife will be back to work in an office in some capacity. The house will be empty, and that will be odd for me. It will also be a big adjustment for her. But she’s, in her own words, “tiny but mighty”. She’s a tough little cookie, and there’s no doubt that she’ll handle being in school full time much better than I will, at least at first.

Anyway, since these two people are so important to me, and are at milestone ages, I wanted to try a little experiment with them. I decided to ask them both the same five questions to see what they said, or how they answered it. I knew the answers would be very different, but that was the fun of this whole thing. I wanted answers from someone who’s been around for awhile, and from someone who’s still very, very young. The questions are, on the surface level, simple. I needed to make them that way so my 5 year old’s head didn’t explode. But the answers were as different, and telling, as I hoped. So let’s get to these questions.

Number one was easy, but again, the answers were pretty much what I expected. I asked them each their favorite movie. My dad picked “Close Encounters of the Third Kind”. This makes so much sense. In 1977, he was 27, and science fiction was a fairly new premise. He loves science fiction, the cast is amazing and the movie is a classic. He likes this movie so much he visited some places where it was filmed. My daughter picked the “My Little Pony Movie”. Of course. She loves the brightness, the music, she knows the characters and she adores the songs. I know the soundtrack because we listen to it so much. After she answered she asked if we could watch it again, and I am sure we will this weekend. These answers were great.

Question two, favorite tv show. With my dad I didn’t really know where he would go, and quite frankly, I was stunned. He picked “SNL”. But after thinking about it, it makes sense. This is another show that premiered when he was in his 20’s, it was new and different and funny and satirical. It all makes sense after you get to know my dad. And I know for a fact that he still watches “SNL” to this day. My daughter picked “Ryan’s World”, much to my chagrin. But she does adore this show. The kid just opens toys and goofs around with his folks, but it gets her undivided attention. I think that is a lot of what her generation looks for. There needs to be toys and fast cuts and lots of colors and kid jokes. That’s exactly what this show is. It’s a YouTube show that is now a worldwide phenomenon. That’s how her generation consumes pop culture. So it makes sense.

Question three, favorite thing about school. My dad said the teachers that actually cared. He told me it might not make sense, but I totally get it. There are some teachers who really don’t care. Some just do the job and go on to the next class. But the ones that care, they get remembered forever. I have teachers like this. And to know my dad does too is oddly comforting to me. It means that I’m not alone, that I am more like my dad than I already thought. It also shows that, when you get far enough removed from school, the teachers you remember are the ones that cared, that loved the job and that stood out. His answer was pretty cool to me. My daughter’s favorite thing, she’s in her last year of pre k, snack time. Again, it shows her age, the age difference and what is important when you are a kid compared to an adult. Snack time for her is great. She gets a break, she gets some food and she gets to goof with her little friends. I’m sure that will change over time, but to get this answer from her, compared to my dad’s answer, is a perfect correlation between the ages, and the lives they’ve lived to this point.

Question four was my “deep” one. I asked them both the one thing they’d change in the world if they could. My dad said he’d want to abolish the electoral college. I couldn’t agree with him more. With what happened in 2016, the very real threat of it happening again next month, and where we are as a country, the electoral college needs to go. It’s an archaic way of giving some very unqualified people a very powerful job. If we really are a democracy, the popular vote should be what matters. The governments job is to serve the people, so it should be up to the people who gets these high profile government jobs. I totally get this coming from my dad. My daughter said, in no certain words, she wishes she could love her mom more. Both my kids are mommas kids. They love their mom. I’m the hard ass disciplinarian, and she’s the nice one. I say no, and she says yes more. She’s also so much better equipped at doing the girly stuff I’m not proficient at yet. I can’t braid hair or paint nails. I’m learning, but I’m not nearly as good as mom according to my daughter. I do love this answer though because it’s so sweet and innocent and cute. It’s pretty perfect.

The final question, outside of family, what’s the one thing you love. My dad said friendships. I asked him to explain. He said that the friends he still has, the new ones and the ones that have stuck for a long time, it’s because they’ve always supported him. They’ve been there for good and bad. They’ve been there to help him in hard times and been there to cheer him on for the good times. Again, this makes sense with his age. He’s been through a lot, and the friends that have stuck it out with him are true friends. People come and go, but the ones that stay, they’re important. My daughter’s answer, her birthday. Total prisoner of the moment, but she’s a 5 year old, and she just had a birthday and got gifts. That was her second answer when I asks her why her birthday, the gifts, in particular, her spa kit. And isn’t they just totally what you’d expect from a 5 year old? Of course her birthday is the best. Not only does she get new toys and things, she is doted on more than normal. She’s the star of the show, and she loves that. I thought this was a neat little experience, and I think it shows a big difference in kids versus adults.

This was fun, and something I will continue to explore. Anyway, happiest of birthdays to my dad and my daughter. I love you both and I’m so excited for more birthdays to come.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

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