I've just got a little bit better at modifying my behaviour to suit social expectations!!
Well put! It is usually only the very young and the fairly old who can get away with being "difficult"... like Marquis' glorious vision of The Old Soak! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/delight.gif" alt="" />
Which raises another point: "adults" dealing with young people tend to be thinking from within those social constraints, and are trying for good or ill to ease the path for a new generation. Perhaps also, on the adult side, there is a tinge of both jealousy (of youth and its possibilities...) and fear (for the chld's future if not "properly" guided), which tend to muddy the emotional waters somewhat. Could be difficult to deal with even when recognized, but is often not recognized at all.
Kris - From your elevator story, I'd say you've found the perfect balance! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/up.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/up.gif" alt="" />
From Kahlil Gibran: On Children:
And though they are with you, yet they belong not to you. You may give them your love but not your thoughts. For they have their own thoughts. You may house their bodies but not their souls, For their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow, which you cannot visit, not even in your dreams. You may strive to be like them, but seek not to make them like you. For life goes not backward nor tarries with yesterday.
