<p>Growing up in the Vietnam era with parents who did’nt know what we were doing in school and were only happy that we were attending certainly made our generation grow up alot faster. Many of my peers were married right out of college and having a baby at the age of 23 or 24. I could not imagine any of my kids ready for such a commitment at that age. However, we also did not have the expectations on us that our kids have today. We created our kids to be kids and we are always there to lend a helping hand. Most highschool or college grads during my time were working as soon as they graduated. We had no choice that was the unspoken rule. Our kids get too many mixed messages about what is expected of them. They are supposed to be achieve higher education and if that is not enough then they are to go on to get a masters degree. How many people had a masters degree when we were growing up…not many. I did not go back to school until I was able to afford it and that meant having a couple of roommates and alot of pasta. They were good years even though they were tough. It was what made us resilent and it served us well. I am concerned about our kids because I wonder if they ever really had a tough spot would they be able to swim…only time will tell.</p>