Had a chat with my grandpa last night that flipped a switch

He was talking about his old job at the paper mill in Green Bay, back when guys would bring doughnuts every Friday and nobody had a smartphone. He said "loyalty used to mean showing up, not just liking a post." I've been ghosting on plans and blaming busy schedules for years. It made me think about how I treat people versus how I'd want them to treat me. Anybody else get hit by a random comment from an older relative that stuck with you?

3 comments

3 Comments

eva_adams681mo ago

Ever accidentally shown up to a party that was just someone else's phone scrolling session?

wadem891mo ago

You ever had that moment where something so simple just smacks you in the face? My buddy's dad told him once that he was "too busy" to hang out four times in a row, and his old man just said "son, you're not busy, you're just picking your phone over people." He said it stung worse than any lecture because it was true. He started showing up to things even if he was tired, and now he's the guy everyone knows will actually be there if he says yes.

milessmith1mo ago

My buddy tried that approach and ended up at a cookout where the host spent the whole time on his phone scrolling Instagram. He drove 45 minutes in traffic just to watch a dude tap a screen. So now he's "the guy who shows up" but half the time the people he's showing up for don't even care. Is being present really worth it if the other person isn't going to match that energy?