Boomer Randomness

The older I get, the more comfortable I get about myself and my age.   I didn’t expect that.   Counterbalancing that comfort level, however, is the growing feeling that I can almost see the finish line.   It is likely thirty or more years in the future, but it is there, I can sense it and I don’t want to get any closer to it.   It is that same nagging feeling you get in July and August when you realize the days are getting shorter even though they are hotter than they were in May and June.   Summer isn’t ready to let go yet, but you know it will. This has been the most incredible year for me.   Growing friendships, fun activities that take me out of my comfort zone, new adventures, travel, professional development, and on and on and on.   I am the happiest I have ever been.   Running parallel with all of that is evidence of my aging, including a few new physical limitations I’ve never had, slightly increased challenges keeping up with...

My original vision for this blog and its predecessor Fifty Something blog was to observe and comment on growing older in the ‘baby boom’ era.   Boomers are generally those of us born between 1946 and 1964, the prosperous post-World War II years.   People born in 1946 usually have very different attitudes and perspectives than those born in 1964, but we are all united by the fact that we are the largest population segment.   In other words, we still rule the world. Someone born in 1946 grew up in the boomer prosperity years but were influenced by predictable life patterns … marriage to one person, a long-term job with a company that offered a pension upon retirement, kids when in their 20s and grandkids in their 60s, family support in old age, etc.   People born in 1964 grew up in an era of later marriage, childlessness as an option, job changing, periods of economic boom and bust and boom, marriages that didn’t last, etc. Nobody can predict the future,...

During the past week, I spent many hours with some people who are 75 to 85 years old. These include the mother of a close friend, the friend's step-dad and assorted siblings and in laws.  These elderly folks are wonderful caring people. And they are very needy. Are all older people this needy? Is this a foreshadowing of my behavior? When I say 'needy' I don't mean the needs often surrounding obvious physical challenges related to aging.  I mean that some people in this age range are scared, judgmental, demanding, resistant to change in routine, fixed in their expectations and on and on. I don't say this to be critical or judgmental. At this moment, I am merely observing. The mother of the friend is in the hospital recovering from a hip replacement. She is normally a sweet, caring 82-year-old. But she has had significant mood swings during the week she has been in the hospital. Those moods went from her funny sense of humor to verbal meanness to insultin...