Know Your Audience

I didn't go back to the luncheon today. Apparently the "magic parent guy" spoke again and continued his synopsis of the "start" and "stop" theories to parenting. I have decided that he hasn't learned the number one rule in public speaking, KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE. Let me give you a little background if you haven't read the "What's In Your Walker Bag?" post. This luncheon is every Monday, and consists of mainly women in there late 70's and early 80's. Well, truth be told there are a few younger women there, but mostly the women are on up there in age.

Now, what I can't figure out is, why he thought that women of this age care anything about how to raise children. Think about it, they have already done that, years ago. And most of them may have grandchildren, but I would bet that they aren't Jedi-Mind-Tricking their grandchildren with the "stop" and "start" theories. Well, they might be. Actually I have to tell this story on my grandmother. When I was a kid, if I took a Benadryl I was out like a light in 30-minutes. So when I would spend the night with them, and I was being rambunctious at bedtime (which was most of the time), Grandmother would say "time to take your vitamin." She will probably deny this, but it is true!

My point is, these women don't care about learning new techniques. At this point in life they are alive, to spoil their grandchildren. Know what I mean? So, next week he is going to speak on "the relationship with your husband." I heard through the grapevine that a group of these women are boycotting, because their husbands aren't alive anymore. They said, "we don't care about that, this is not applicable to us." Guess he will find out when only about five people show up next week! Yes, I realize this is sad, but come on, do you blame them? Plus I am sure what he is going to lecture on would be like teaching "colors and ABC's" to seniors in high school. These women have been there done that!

So, I was discussing all of the this with Granny tonight (she happens to fall in this age range). She told me "that is the last thing that these women want to hear, especially if they have raised children." She informed me that she had raised enough children, and she was tired and done with all of that. In fact she said, "I have finally figured out how to get along with a child, find out what they want and let them have it!" The funniest thing she told me was that when all her children were little and all five of them would get to screaming and crying at the same time, my grandfather would say "what is wrong?" And she would say "I don't know, I have given them everything I can think of." And he would say "shit give'em the gun!" Of course he was just kidding, but my point is after you have lived through raising five children fairly close in age, and then helped raise eleven grandchildren, you don't want to listen to someone give you advice on child rearing.

I don't think that when you are getting on up there in age you should stop living your life. I don't think there is ever a point that you should go back in the dressing room and hang out. All I am trying to say is, know your audience. I dare say most of the women in that room could teach this man a thing or two about parenting and about marriage. Maybe instead of the boycott they should ban together and take over the luncheon with a little advice of their own. I can tell you this, if all of them went around the room and each gave a nugget of advice, I wouldn't miss that luncheon for the world....