Louisiana Parents Disclose 13 Truths You Learn Growing Up

In Louisiana respect for our elders is a way of life. We might not always agree with those older than us but we'd never tell them that to their face. That is just part of the "chain of command" here along the bayou. From Lake Charles to Lafayette, and New Orleans to Shreveport we do believe that with age comes wisdom.

I believe in the Louisiana hierarchy the Mamaw and Papaw rank at the top of the heap when it comes to advice and experience. Then you have few older Aunts and Uncles that you can ask but after that it comes down to good old Mom and Dad. Most of Mom's experience comes from observation and study while most of Dad's experience, well there is a reason every scar tells a story.

The dictionary suggests that those who are wise have "experience...knowledge...and good judgement". I don't disagree that those are acceptable terms that I too would use when asked to describe someone who is "wise".  But that's philosophical wisdom, like the owl in the old Tootsie Roll commercial. Today we are discussing practical wisdom.

And in this case a lack of practical wisdom which has not served the current generation well. The website Reddit polled its contributors about growing older and growing up. They asked what tasks had their parents not prepared them for or warned them about. The answers were surprisingly mundane but most certainly accurate.

See if you don't find yourself or a child you raised in at least a few of these tasks that "no one prepared me for".