Gray Matters by Stuart Carlson and Jerry Resler for August 06, 2023

Yup, gramps, dump all your childhood trauma on your grandkid.

The crayons 64-crayon box didn’t come out until I was halfway through grade school.

I had one of those. It was like I died and went to Heaven.

I always found the aroma of the manila drawing paper more alluring.

My kids weren’t allowed to have them because it would hurt the other kids’ feelings. So I bought them for the whole class. Problem solved. Had to work an extra shift but it was worth it.

I still have a small bin with my child’s crayons, many broken, but a few hundred of them, waiting for my grandchildren to demolish them. They probably won’t be interested now, since most of their toys require batteries and they just have to push buttons and hear noise and see lights and are entertained. My child had to use her imagination. I insisted on it, and it really paid off for her personality and ability to think things through. It has helped her in her career. She doesn’t know what boredom is, but I suspect her kids will claim it often. I heard it once – I am bored – so I taught her how to clean a bathroom. After that, she found things to entertain herself with, and her friends’ parents used to often call and ask for my daughter to visit, even for a week sometimes. I finally asked one of them why, and was told because my child was a self-starter and a good social director so the adults could just take it easy while she was visiting.

I was so jealous of the kids whose parents could afford the Crayola 64 box. I made sure to buy them for my grandkids