What do you think of when you think of a brat? One son would say “Food!” The other son says, “The majority of adult Americans?” I automatically think of one of my toddler princes throwing a royal tantrum on the floor of a major department store (melt into the floor moment).

Thank God that phase is over! Getting bratty boys to chill is a challenge. God bless all the little brats and their frazzled parents. Onto types of brats beyond toddlers and delicious sausages: There are teenage smart-mouth brats, the news complains about millennial brats, and yikes! Since I run with this crowd, I find boomer brats all the time.

Just what is a brat? Here’s the definition from Encarta Dictionary:

1. Demanding and selfish person (Wow doesn’t that describe a lot of peeps)
2. Child from military family (I thought that was slang?)

Bing (Oxford Dictionaries) has these definitions:

1. A child, typically a badly behaved one (and here come the toddler princes and princesses)
2. A bratwurst sausage (Yay! The sausage made the list!)

What brought this on? Well…The early snowbirds are returning here in South Florida and school restarted about a month ago. Why the early (snow)birds want to come back at the height of hurricane season is beyond me. But the traffic is ramping up big time. Brattiness reigns supreme on the nation’s highways (yes I made up a word. Spell check hates me right now). It’s where I notice brats in action first. They are downright dangerous!

I am noticing as I am growing up…I prefer that to maturing, makes me sound like aged cheese or something…Our society has become very spoiled. In short we have become brats.

Now don’t get me wrong, a little brat attitude can be cute and funny. Back in the 80s the hip and happening perfected the humorous brat, and pouty brat. We enjoyed slinging one-liners and comebacks all in good fun. I think every generation needs just a little brat attitude to make it fun.

But where is the line? When does being a brat become just plain rude to downright bully mean. I watch grown people melt down into a tirade, which by the way is just an “adult” way of saying temper tantrum. Ya know the only people who really can do that well are actually two-year old toddlers. The rest of us just look like village idiots.

Believe me, I’m not proud of it but, I’ve done my share of “tirades.” It feels good for about 24 hours. Then I look back and feel like an idiot. If I can I try to make amends. I was taught this early in my checkered career path before college.

I was an Optician’s apprentice. No, I’m not an Optician. I didn’t make it that far, checkered career path and all that. Anyhow, a regular customer came in to pickup glasses at lunch. I was not allowed to dispense glasses without the Optician. Well the customer lost it. He ended up yelling at me and storming out the door. I was shocked and hurt which morphed into anger. How dare he! Who does he think he is! And worse raced through my head.

The next day he came in to apologize to me personally. He told me the doctors had told his family his 4-year old granddaughter was diagnosed with cancer. My heart was broken for him and his family. But being the man that he was, he told me that it was no excuse for taking it out on me. I learned valuable lessons that day.

• Don’t judge a person by their actions. I really see their heart or what hurt they has been inflicted in life.
• Just because someone else is acting badly doesn’t mean it’s right to return in kind.
• If I am acting like a brat and hurt someone in the process, be woman enough (in my case) to make it right if I can. If I can’t I pray a blessing for the injured party.

We have lots of technological advances to speed us towards selfishness, that’s really what brattiness is, right? There are lots of platforms in the digital realm to make us look like the court jester at best and the village idiot at worst. We have to decide where that line is and what is socially acceptable for us.

Hey I can own the court jester, I really don’t want to be the village idiot. Now you know my line. I also have found; I don’t want to hurt others or debate (another word for fight) constantly. I want to enjoy life to the fullest, including my silly bratty episodes. I just need to remember where the line is located. Then hopefully the people in contact with me can enjoy their bratty life a little too.

Embrace yourself! Love,

Milly

P.S. Eldest prince said to me – “Boomer Brats? That’s the best name for a band ever!” Any aging boomers out there in need of a band name?