Boomer-Angst

Welcome to 2011. The second day of a calendar page turn is a Sunday, providing an extra day off to recoup from either an excessive New Year’s Eve celebration, or to prepare for the general grind of returning to the office on Monday, whether in one’s home or elsewhere out in the big wide world. That is, if one has a job of any sort in the difficult economy if you are either just out of college only to discover your Master’s Degree in whatever is worthless, or you have joined the “Baby-Boomer’s” reality bust of ageism in the work force.

2011 is not merely a calendar shift for a generation of post-war “Baby Boomer’s” (who were born between 1946-1964) it is the clanging cow bell shattering the silence of a quiet field of dreams as the new year will see the beginning round of “Baby-Boomer’s” qualifying for Social Security and Medicare benefits. Man, that sounds rather “old” doesn’t it? Where did all that time go? Weren’t the "Boomer’s" just dancing to the soundtrack of “Hair” and heading in droves to San Francisco? Or hitch-hiking through Europe? Or catching a magic carpet ride? Those were the days, eh? For the “peak Boomer’s“ indeed they were (born between 1952-1957). What a ride! In the thick of Elvis, The Beatles, the “Revolution” – no bras, long hair, “free love.” Sigh.

Are you a “Boomer” in a bummer? Have you bought into the mentality that because you are of a certain age you no longer fit into the working populace and therefore spend most of your time brooding and self-negating until you no longer have the energy or desire to get beyond the negativity wall you and the “collective consciousness” have built around your dreams? Were you intimidated at a job interview by a fresh-faced child whose only knowledge of Woodstock is that it’s a place somewhere in the U.S. where a concert was held and their grandparents met and fell in love when they bumped into each other while slipping in the mud from a rainstorm? If so, you are experiencing the “Boomer-Angst” of realizing that what was touted in the 60’s and early 70’s as a world on its way to peace and understanding, flowers in one’s hair with rainbows everywhere, turned out to be just another Fairy-Tale you were taught as a child that didn’t come true. And also because “peace and understanding” is not ruling the world, and “War Is Over” – not.

Oh sure, some do find their Cinderella or Prince Charming, and/or the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow (pardon my cliché’s, but I’m of a “certain age”). My purpose isn’t to nay-say all the way through this post. Everyone’s individual lives, no matter what age, is different. I’m specifically addressing an issue that has been hammered through most our minds over the past few years that tell “older” people (“older” than someone young, I guess) they should be put out to pasture because there is a little (or a lot) of grey in their hair.

I know many who are at a loss during this life transition whether or not they are enjoying continuing career and personal success. Running successful businesses, traveling for pleasure, doesn’t guarantee a feeling of joie de vivre if a hip replacement is needed, or a heart bypass, or when a glance in the mirror produces a shocking “Who the hell is that?” moment. Yes, yes, it’s just ageing. The problem is that for the “Boomer's” in particular, it’s been a bit unsettling to sit and watch the years go by.

What hasn’t been discussed in the media concerning the “Boomer's” is that, ironically, many are in the best physical and creative shape they’ve ever been in. People who have had weight issues all of their life have lost the baggage, eat healthier than ever, have reinvented themselves, and have found new energy to carry on into a sunrise rather than the classic sunset. Another misconception about the age factor is also ironic: most of the people I know who have had major operations one would consider to be only for the “elderly” are years and years younger than a “Baby-Boomer.” And when considering surface physical changes, age is not a factor when it concerns the colour of one’s hair. Some people have grey or white hair in their 30’s. A 25 year-old very healthy and happy young man I know has an ever-widening bald spot.

These things we must remember…pay attention to…absorb: age is in the head of the beholder. It’s what our memories do to us that may cause a meltdown if we compare who we once were, how we once looked and felt, to the new self shedding its skin. It’s how we feel about who we are whether or not our culture prefers to focus on youth for all things alive and bright. The self-inflicted via self-denigration and buying into what we can and can not do or wear or say or be simply because of a number labeled in both our minds and in other’s, is the purpose of today’s flog.

Heads-up, those with “Boomer-Angst” – you can change your perception just as your body has changed with time. I’m not ignoring the truth that starting a new life, creating a new career, dealing with societal ageism, isn’t real and that it’s simply a matter of snapping one’s fingers and all will be well. I’m just saying watch what you’re thinking about yourself as you age…at any age, in fact. What we feed on in our thoughts will either bring us to our knees in grief, or give us new relief.

Hey, I’m guilty of feeling swayed by the attitudes of others when it involves words with varying connotations. To some, being called “Grandma” or Grandpa” provides a warm rush of happy oxygen throughout their entire being. Lucky for me I chose not to have children: if anyone called me “Grandma” or “Nana” I’d probably faint.

Guess I have some self-work to do…..