GRANDPARENTS

 One of the functions of grandparents is to impart the knowledge/wisdom they have acquired in their lives to their grandkids.  This is fraught with peril.  In my opinion, maybe half of their advice is obsolete/irrelevant.  It is the responsibility of the recipient (kids) to dutifully listen and then politely discard that which no longer applies.  Of course, who is to say it really is obsolete.

For instance, I remember quite distinctly one evening at supper (not dinner), my grandmother advising that we should chew our food twenty-six times before swallowing.  So for about half of that meal I counted my chews, all the time wondering how she came up with that bit of information.  About fifty years later I read an article in the paper indicating that well-masticated food (that is, saturated with saliva) is much easier to digest.  It didn't give a number of chews, but still validated my grandmother.  But she also advised my sister not to eat pork while pregnant.  This is an old wive's tale (you can actually look it up on Google) and not borne out by science.  She also advised not to pull up my socks by the top elastic.  I totally ignored that.  Back then socks were not as sturdy as now, and truthfully, my socks started drooping long before they wore out.

She also advised that every seven years our taste buds change thus we should always be trying out new foods and not dismissing old ones that we previously didn't like.  My grandkids can attest that I tell them the same thing.  Science doesn't verify every seven years, in fact, they change every two weeks.  But other factors come into play.  For instance, when I went on my plant-based diet, I severely restricted processed sugar.  Within three days carrots, as an example, started tasting much sweeter.  In the end, it's the brain that ultimately determines whether or not you like what you are tasting.  And, of course, when you become a senior citizen, distinctive taste fades.  That's a blessing and a curse.

So when you kids hear an old wives tale, take it with a grain of salt (don't throw salt over your shoulder) but don't dismiss it out of hand.