Generational Trends

I've typically heard of generational trends in a negative light. Things like histories of addiction or divorce or other medical problems. But are there good generational trends? I think there can be and my family has several.

On my mom’s side of the family, we have a history of getting married young. My great grandmother got married at 17, my grandmother got married at 18, and my mom got married at 19. Following that trend, I should have gotten married at 20. I didn't :)

Another trend on my mom's side is life-long friendships. My maternal grandparents met in junior high and still have friends that they are in contact with from then as well. My mom is still in touch with a friend who she’s known since they were 4 and 5 years old. There are definitely people who I've known for years and years, but no one who I am really in regular contact with or super close to anymore. For a time, I thought I was going to keep this trend but, sadly, that no longer seems to be the case.

On my dad’s side of the family, we have three or four generations of Purdue grads. And not just one person in each generation, no. My dad and his brother, their parents, and their mom's parents, at the very least. When it comes to careers, we have several generations of pastors. It might not be every generation, but there are a lot of pastors in our family tree.

All good things must come to an end though, right? I've already documented how I broke the trends on my mom's side of the family. On my dad's side, all of us grandkids are done with college, so barring some strange sudden urge to become an engineer, the Purdue trend is dead. And while you never know what God will do, the odds of either of my brothers becoming pastors is next to nothing. It leads me to wonder what trends we might be starting. I'm sure that the first people in these trends had no idea they were starting a generational trend. Maybe homeschooling or working in trades or being and entrepreneur will become the new trends for future generations.

What are some good trends in your family? Are you continuing them or not?