In a quiet estate on the edge of town, three generations lived under one noisy roof. There was Grandpa Mwangi, who believed texting was a form of witchcraft, Uncle Dan, a Millennial and proud survivor of dial-up internet, and Brian, the Gen Z grandchild, whose fingers typed faster than his thoughts, and whose vocabulary often sounded like code from a spaceship.
One Sunday evening, tragedy struck: Brian’s dog passed away, and so, he sent a sad message to the family group chat: “😭 Max is gone. RIP my lil soldier.”
Grandpa, determined to show love and empathy, replied: “So sorry to hear that. LOL.” Yes. LOL. Because Grandpa still thought it meant “Lots of Love.”
The group chat exploded like crazy. Aunt Carol typed in full caps, doing her best to get attention. Brian replied with, “WDYM Grandpa???”
Grandpa, confused, replied: “What’s WDYM? I said LOL!” Brian nearly threw his phone into the sink. Uncle Dan facepalmed.
Everything was in a frenzy. The family called an emergency Zoom.
At the Zoom meeting, Grandpa was handed a paper titled: “Gen Z to English – Survival Kit for Boomers”
It included gems like:
- WDYM = What do you mean
- FR FR = For real, for real
- NO CAP = I’m not lying
- DEAD = This is very funny, not actual death
- VIBING = I’m in a good mood
- SLAPS = Something is impressive
- L = A loss
- W = A win
- IDK IDC = I don’t know, I don’t care
Grandpa read the paper in silence… then looked up slowly: “Are you SURE these aren’t demons?”
Things escalated when Grandpa tried to bond with Brian. He sent a voice note: “Wagwan fam. I’m vibing today, no cap. This ugali SLAPS.” 😎. Brian screamed. Uncle Dan needed paracetamol while Grandma isolated herself and prayed for intervention.
Still, Grandpa tried. He joined TikTok and posted a video lip-syncing to: “I’m not like the other grandpas. I’m a cool one.” The video went viral with comments rolling in:
- “W Grandpa 😭🔥”
- “Bro, he VIBIN fr fr!”
- “Protect him at all costs 🛐”
Later that night, the three generations sat on the couch with a determination to square things out. No Wi-Fi. No memes. No slang. Just old-time silence, talk… and stew.
Then Grandpa said something none of them expected: “I may not talk like you… But I want to understand you.” Brian looked up, and instead of sarcasm, he smiled: “Thanks, Grandpa. That’s real. You’re a W.” Grandpa whispered, “I don’t know what that means… but I’ll take it as a compliment.”
Moral of the Story?
The world is changing much faster than some of us can keep up. This is as much true as the fact that the sun is hot. What’s normal for one generation sounds like alien language to another. We cannot escape it. But truth doesn’t get lost in translation when the heart chooses humility. We all want to be heard. But the real magic?
Choosing to understand… before demanding to be understood.
Choosing to understand… before demanding to be understood.
That’s right, you try to understand the other first. So, whether you’re typing “WDYM,” or wondering if “slaps” is now a good thing…Remember this:
Change isn’t wrong. It’s just different. And love learns the language of those it cares for.
Who was the craziest one in the lot? LOL.
