While Boomers and Millennials battle, GenX has stood quietly by hoping that we could avoid the out of touch accusations Boomers endure and the “kids these days” dismissals heard by our younger Millennial counterparts. Still, we GenXers cannot avoid the generational gap that divides us and our children. A trip to New Towne Mall, though, may have given my daughter Lucy and I the insight that we are not so different after all.
Lucy and I have always bonded over sports; we’ve also had our fiercest battles because of them. I’ve been her coach, her biggest fan, and her most honest critic since she first set foot on the soccer field at age 3. Lucy has excelled at soccer and basketball, but it’s been a long while since she decided baseball was her brother’s thing and not hers.
Maybe that’s why we were able to have so much fun together at Flatmound Fastpitch. There were zero expectations when she jumped in the cages to take a few swings. We laughed as we remembered her days playing baseball with the boys and she surprised herself when she had zero trouble putting the bat on the ball. Once an athlete, always an athlete I suppose.
Of course, I could resist challenging her to some strength and conditioning work while we were there… And she couldn’t help meeting the challenge while showing off just a bit.
Finding Common Ground in a Surprising Place
While we connect through sports, shopping is where Lucy and I almost always diverge. All of my fashion choices are met with an eye roll and firm “no,” of course. When we walked into Rue21, this same scene continued to play until…Lucy saw the Tupac shirt. Tupac was a pivotal figure for my generation. In addition to 90s grunge, GenZs were witness to the transformation of rap and hip hop. Tupac was emblematic of that.
The murder of Tupac was a tragedy that formed our generational experience and his music filled the soundtrack of my youth. Lucy picked up that Tupac shirt and I tried my best not to smile. If she knew I approved, she might think it wasn’t cool and put it back. I held my breath and she asked if she could buy it. That was the stepping stone I needed.
A Musical Bridge Across the Divide
As a teen, I would have jumped in my car and popped my Tupac CD into the player that was connected through a cassette adapter. Tonight, I asked Lucy to search for Tupac on Spotify. I couldn’t have my daughter wearing that shirt without some musical education. We drove home listening to Tupac’s greatest hits and one of my favorites played just as we were arriving home. I think “Gotta Keep Ya Head Up” is a perfect song to bridge GenX and our GenZ kiddos. Goodness knows I’ll smile every time my baby girl wears her new shirt and I hear that old music that now has new meaning.
Thank you New Towne Mall for helping us learn we can still connect, despite our generational differences.
