Tuesday 1 November 2016

Generation gap & Miscommunication: A huge barrier.

The glass of buttermilk fell from his hands; as he shivered from his head to toe. His eyes were burning red with rage, a sense of hurt and astonishment. He knew it. This was it. Today was the end of it. It had been going on for so many months already but he kept quiet for the sake of his hardworking mother. Mother used to cry so many times in front of him; asking him to choose career over a woman first. The mother was a strong woman in her younger days; a fighter perhaps of all kind. The son admired her courage to not give up at this stage of her life. Do you ever wonder, "What am I doing in this family?" The son got this feeling half of the time; not only around his family, but around the world as well. He wanted to be isolated from everything to get peace for a while. Dad was acting all bonkers when his mother used to visit them. The problems grew intense when she stayed in the house. The son used to be home many times when he tried to make a conversation with his dad. But it never seemed to work out. His dad had changed in every possible way in the last two years. Once a cheerful, happy man was now a irritating, complaining, whining and annoying person. They had a lot of fights. The mother used to stay outside due to work so she was less suffering, thankfully. His mother did not want to get married. She was married off at a very young age; just to run away from her problems in her own house; this lady got married.

"You people treat me like a dog! He is not my son." Said dad in anger.
Then there is her son standing, a mother in her forties; willing to enjoy her life but cannot.
There is the grand mother standing, crying to this bullshit happening. Dad shouts again and mom grasps the son's hand and holds it tightly to shut him up to avoid further argument.  The son is speechless. He is badly hurt today. He cannot say a word. He keeps staring at his father thinking that his father did not say such thing like that and it is all just a dream. He goes out. He is used to fights and not talking properly with his dad anymore. They hardly have good meaningful conversations. Let's name the son as Steve. Everytime dad comes in the hall; Steve gets paranoid thinking what will dad ask him about. Is it about his scores? Is it about his college certificate that Steve is yet to take? Or anything else? Yeah, Steve's mistake. It's been three months since his course ended; and Steve did not go and pick up his certificate. Dad keeps whining about it everyday in a unpleasant manner. Sure, kids are taught to speak nicely with parents as they are elder. But what if parents never try to speak to you nicely and directly start shouting at you? Yes, parents should be respected. But Steve's mom wasn't happy with the same dad she told Steve to give respect to. Steve's mom was unhappy. Menopause was breaking her already and dad gave her a hard time. So she found a job and stayed away almost half of the day everyday. She used to love office more than her own home. Oh and her name is Wendy. Dad was a engineer; a bright student with wrong decisions taken at his young age which lead to frustration in the later stage of his life. The impact was seen on his children and wife. All the frustration was poured upon the family. Steve had a elder sister Martha who was an artist and a part time photographer. At the end of the day Steve knew that he had Martha to share everything with. Martha was also getting affected due to dad. No, Dad is not the devil here. The circumstances made him like this; but now it was getting over head.

"Why don't you file for a divorce? Martha earns now and so do you. We can live all by ourselves. You've suffered enough already. How much are you willing to sacrifice? Spending rest of your life for a man who doesn't behave properly and is selfish?" a worried Steve asks.

"I can't leave him, Steve. He has been like this for years. I'm used to this now. It's not easy. Your grandma won't be able to survive if I do something like this!" Mom says.

Steve gets pissed off. "WHAT? Who is going to spend the days and nights with him? You or granny? You right? Why do you wish to suffer with no fault of your own?" He asks.

"Because I have accepted my fate and so should you." Mom says. Although Steve knows, mom doesn't literally mean it. She should've left the man long time ago and live a happy life of her own.
People suffer in so much ways. Wendy never showed any of this to Steve or Martha when they were growing up. Until they realized what actually their father was, it was hard for them to digest it. A family, which used to be happy and cheerful once had grown apart now.
Steve hugs Wendy; and both weeping after the fight and dad leaving the house.

I think it's the wrong timing. I do not blame such things on fate or destiny or luck. It's just bad timing. I imagine a life where Wendy giving a divorce to that man. Yes, that'd be very difficult at the start but Wendy would be happy. She would have her children to take care of. Humans have a limit for keeping patience about anything. In a family; once you grow apart, misunderstandings grow. It's very important for both generations to understand that they are different from each other like sky and sand; yet they live under one roof. Try adjusting with each other for a change. If this happens; I am pretty sure, problems which Steve and his family faced would decrease soon. There shouldn't be a communication gap or a barrier which will keep both generations away from each other. Understanding mindsets is important. Steve's father never tried to show interest in what they watched or what music Steve and Martha loved. This behavior doesn't help for both cases. Every generation has flaws. If you don't respect each other; you won't be able to live with each other. People would be astonished to see a person thinking of earning from the age of 16 years instead of getting education first.

Steve's dad always kept on telling them to earn money as they were poor and couldn't afford anything. But suddenly out of nowhere, Dad bring a 80,000 bucks TV and the whole family is surprised to see it.  This is where it lies again. A communication between two generations and understanding it. Giving freedom to do it is important. Go with the flow. The world changes every second. If you keep living with older values; you won't be able to manage with the people living today. Likewise; to our generation, we need to speak out about our problems to our parents in such a way that they would give it a thought to understand it. I know; all of us are suffering so much right now. But it's okay. You all are suffering it. Accept it. Don't run away from it. It's okay not to be okay sometimes. Talk about your problems openly and cry out loud when you are alone. Sit in a room, drink a glass of water and you know it. You'll get over this. So speak up. Always speak up.

Steve has no plans on returning back home yet. He made his first ever trip out of his city and is living with a friend. I hope Steve is okay and finds himself soon. Because it's never too late to start all over again.

No comments:

Post a Comment