Most of us millennials were born in the 1980s and opened our eyes to the new glow of cable TV, personal computers, and video games.
Early on, we learned what music was on MUSIC Television, wanted to be a contestant on Double Dare, and discovered what the news was through “Baby Jessica,” the San Francisco Earthquake, and the Gulf War.
Don’t worry, we still played outside. Playground equipment was still dangerous enough to burn our skin and scrape our knees. We didn’t ask for plastic, but we got it anyway.
We didn’t ask for participation trophies either, but we got those too (Well, I never got one, but members of a basketball team that I helped eliminate from the playoffs during middle school did. Talk about an awkward moment leaving the locker room and walking into the middle of that impromptu ceremony for them in the hallway.).
Back to current events — we had enough of those too. No, we didn’t have a Great Depression or a World War II, Korea, or Vietnam, but we did have Iraq, Afghanistan, and a recession (or two or more?).
We didn’t get a presidential resignation, but we have seen three impeachments. The shock value has worn off of those.
1960 was an historically close election. 2000 said, “Hold my beer”.
We haven’t gone back to the moon yet, a journey paid for by astronauts Grissom, White, and Chaffee.
We’re still waiting to see how the debt of losing the Challenger and Columbia crews will be repaid.
How many recessions does it take to equal a depression?
We might not be riding the rails or asking our “brother” if he can “spare a dime,” but we are asking for help.
We aren’t asking for much, just a decent wage, a chance at retirement, the possibility of owning our own homes someday, and milk and gasoline prices that don’t tempt us to play the slots or tables in order to pay for them.
A lot of us grew up in Catholic families. A lot of us went to a Catholic school.
A lot of those schools aren’t around anymore.
You’ve heard this before, but all of my schools in my hometown — Catholic and public — no longer exist. They’ve either closed for good or moved elsewhere.
You’re right, I can’t “go home again” because nothing is where I left it and I don’t know where I’m going.
Back to our faith. We learned to pray the Rosary. After we forgot to keep praying it and wanted to get back into it, we were surprised to learn there were new mysteries. Where did these “Luminous” ones come from?!
We had our first Confessions three years after our First Communions.
This wasn’t our idea.
We were shown monstrances by our teachers as if they were museum pieces.
This wasn’t our idea.
OK, it wasn’t all bad. We did get a basic idea of what it means to be Catholic, but be nice if you think we’re a little “behind”. We did the best we could with what we had.
I know I may get some angry responses from those who had super duper awesome Catholic educations and upbringings. Instead of seething at me, just say a prayer of thanks.
As we enter our 40s, we can’t help but feel we missed something, or our time went by too fast.
The “kids” in their 20s are taking things over and we don’t recall ever having our turn.
We were told to wait. We were told to work hard. We were told to do the right thing.
Our parents taught us what the “right thing” is, but nothing could have prepared them or us for all new definitions of “right” and wrong” as we start putting a “2” at the start of our years.
We’re sort of in the crossfire of the divide between “boomers” and “Gen-Z”. “Gen-X” doesn’t quite know where they want to fit in sometimes either.
I can empathize with those who lived through the 1930s and 1940s and just wanted things to get peaceful and normal.
We’re still waiting for our new “1950s”. I hope it doesn’t take until the 2050s to get there.
Of course, the 1950s led to the 1960s so maybe everything wasn’t as perfect as so thought.
But, here we are.
We’re praying. We’re working. We’re trying.
We’re living in the middle of divides within the Church, within our nation, within our world, and so on.
We don’t know whether to pick a side or just wait it out.
We’ve been waiting it out for 40 years. How much longer can we wait?
We’ll do what we can with what we’ve got. That’s what we’ve always done. That’s what we’re best at.
That’s all God can ask of us.
What’s next?
I don’t know.
I’ll see you when we get there.
Thank you for reading.
I’m praying for you.