"The Old Fashioned Italian."

A young lady I was chatting with

Smiled at my opinions the other day,

When I questioned her ability to "Have it All:

A rewarding job, and children, plus time to play.

I heard her phrase again today,

So it’s not an aberration:

It’s that I am an "Old Fashioned Italian,"

And ignorant of this generation.

Being Old Fashioned means--

Working hard for all these years,

Just so that her generation,

Might have the laughter but without all the tears.

The food, the clothes, the very nice home,

And of course a car and college too,

Her generation got it all for free--

From Old Fashioned me and you.

Their mothers stayed home to nurture;

"They" then thought that was just fine,

But now "They" can do it even better,

In three hours of "quality time."

Yes, their mothers sacrificed their own desires,

So that "They" could have all the best.

Is all the attention her generation got,

Just too much work to give the next?

I wondered where they got the idea,

That "having it all" is their just due,

When I realized they’d always got it all--

               From Old Fashioned me------and you!

©10/13/2006 by Nicholas A. Andreacchio