Christmas Traditions and Reminiscences

This is my next-to-oldest cookbook. I bought this one myself for my "hope chest" when I was 15. That makes it almost 50 years old. You can tell from the condition that it has been used often. It contains the recipes for my annual Christmas offerings for my family — divinity (my mother's favorite), coconut macaroons (my Daddy's favorite), chocolate chip cookies (my daughters' favorite) and fudge, which everyone requests to this day. 


It's not the oldest cookbook I have. I have one that my mother got for me when I was 5. It's called "My First Cookbook," and was published by the Imperial Sugar Company. (I would post a picture of it, except that it's packed away in a box somewhere.) In it, there were blank pages for writing in recipes, and I have written — in crayon — my favorite recipe at the time, which was my granny's biscuits. Even then, I was an aspiring cook. I think Women's Lib, in which I was a fervent and active participant, clouded my life goals for a period of time. With maturity, comes clarity and perspective... thank goodness. The circle of life, right? If only we all listened to the inner voices of our youth...

Age Is Just a Number

Ahhh... those little nuisances that just scream at you, "You're getting old!" I hate them. 

First, there's the medications that keep the old ticker from setting up a blockade on the brain... not to be confused with the kamikaze aneurysm, which, in my mind, would be merciful compared to stroke. 

Then, there's the medication to counteract a lifetime of eating fried food... raised in the South, what can I say? We fried bologna, tomatoes, okra, steak, turkey and, of course, chicken. Hell, they deep fry butter at the State Fair of Texas in Dallas, where I grew up! Yeah, it's that bad. I was grown before I ever tasted roasted chicken or a baked potato.  

The changes in the body are the hardest to take. First, there's my eyes... or, rather, my eye lids. I have none, just a fold of fatty skin hanging down so low that if I didn't have lashes to hold up my lids, I probably wouldn't be able to see. And, what the hell happened to my lips? They didn't move, they just disappeared. My butt looks like it shrank as I got older, but I realized it just fell. It's still as big as it ever was, it just that half of it now hangs down to my knees. But, what I lost in a protruding butt, I made up for in a gut that rivals how I looked six months into pregnancy. And, then, there's the boobs... so disgustingly sad, I can't even talk about that. Bette said it best, "Old age ain't no place for sissies."

So, that brings me to the effort of covering up this assault of years and gravity. And, that's the rub... it costs more! I went from spending $10 for a bra to spending almost $50!! I can't use just regular makeup, I have to buy the more expensive waterproof kind because there's all this skin hanging in folds creating moisture. Without the waterproof makeup, by noon I look like a raccoon and there's spackle in my wrinkles. And, gone are the days of just throwing on some lip gloss. Oh no! I have to draw on lips, just to pretend that I still have some. And, to add insult to injury, I can't laugh, sneeze or cough without running to the bathroom.

It takes more time, more money, more effort just to try and keep from looking like a troll. Sing to me, Frank. 

http://youtu.be/emAe6IClGys 

Yeah, it's all good, right? We're BOOMERS! Age is just a number. 

Encore! Encore!

The die has been cast. I've publicly announced my intention to retire next year. I purposely made it a known fact with my employer because I'm the type of person who resists stepping outside of my comfort zone. And, I'm long overdue for a shake-up. By setting it as a declared goal, I am forcing myself to take deliberate steps to achieve it. It's just how the bullish mind works. For more information on that, click here, but I can save you the trouble. I'm methodical, deliberate, plodding... have you ever seen a cow path? Cows follow the same path they took the day before, and the day before that, even though it's not a direct route to their destination. 

However, while sticking with a path that has proven successful, albeit convoluted, succinctly describes a Taurus personality — or at the very least MY Taurus personality — I think it could easily apply to the baby boomer work force as a whole. We are a demographic that challenged the status quo by refusing to follow the straight and narrow line. We boldly chose a path that allowed us to see what was possible if we strayed a little here and there. Sometimes it worked out for the better, sometimes not. But, what's important is we imagined something different. And, we're not quite done with bringing about change. The generation that questioned everything is now reshaping attitudes about aging and, specifically, retirement. 

The attitude of "never growing old" has carried over for some of us, the idea that if we stop moving, we start dying. Medical science has allowed us to expect as much as 25 more years of life than what our parents had. I know I don't think of myself as the same 60+ years old that my parents were. Some of us are still trying to recover from loses sustained by our overconfidence in a fragile stock market. Technology has given the baby boomer generation choices that did not exist previously. All of these factors add up to a completely different concept of retirement. And, while we may not be willing to continue in the same rat race, myself included, we're still not quite ready to throw in the career towel. In the truest sense, a lot of us have reached that fork in the road and are electing to detour from the tried and tested route to take a path less traveled. We're up to the challenge of "what if" just one more time.

There's some really good news in this economically. For one thing, those classified as senior citizens have more wealth than that age group has ever had before. In fact, a recent AARP study showed the numbers of seniors living in poverty has declined by 6% in the past 20 years, while the proportion of older Americans enjoying a "high" income has increased from 18 to 31 percent. That's pretty significant, considering the strain on Social Security may not be as catastrophic as most doomsday preppers have been predicting. 

In fact, according to US News and World Report, some investment firms have proactively taken steps to identify markets that will benefit from the upcoming senior spending trend, which include medical care (of course), travel (certainly) and consumer products that include... don't laugh... Depends, fiber supplements, vitamins and anti-aging products. 

Also, by stepping out of current long-held positions, boomers not only open the door for employers to hire younger employees for a reduced salary, the boomers give themselves an opportunity to follow a passion, learn something new, share well-honed skills and knowledge, volunteer... make a difference, which has been and always will be our legacy. Already there are a number of books and websites dedicated to what is being termed as "Encore Careers."  

The boomers will be the first generation to truly blaze the trail for retirement in the 21st Century. World, are you ready for this?

The Geezer Boom

But, I can only find out by trying. And, if it turns out I haven't courage enough, we'll soon know it. ~ "The Best Years of Our Lives"

Wow! I was amazed to see that I haven’t blogged since February 15!! What can I say? My life went into overdrive around the second week of March, and it hasn’t let up for one minute since. And, I guess, I wouldn’t have it any other way. I have participated in a paranormal investigation, tried four new restaurants, done volunteer work, read three books, and maintained my workout schedule, while working and taking care of normal daily chores, not to mention having to play catch up on yard work after a mild winter and early spring. I am only slightly disappointed that I haven’t lived up to the New Year’s resolution of posting to my blog at least once a month, because the good news is living up to the other resolutions has be the primary reason for failure to keep this one. How are you doing on yours? I’d love to hear about your successes!

As I was doing some reading regarding Baby Boomers aging, I was astonished to find an article in The Gerontologist, titled “Not Your Mother’s Old Age,” that cited 39 different manuscripts on the subject. A community newspaper in Seattle reported about a summit conducted at South Seattle Community College during which boomers were able to voice what they wanted and needed from the community as they age. There can be little doubt that our generation is establishing brand new perceptions on the so-called golden years. An article in InfoWorld stated: I would love to know how you are making the most of the best years of your life.

“The aging of the baby boomer generation will spur technological innovation and change the entire health-care system,” age researcher Joseph Coughlin said Friday, speaking at a panel discussion on health care and technology sponsored by the New England Business and Technology Association.

Get ready world. You are entering the era of The Geezer Boom.

As I recently told a friend of mine who, in true baby boomer form has decided to learn how to pilot a plane, we make growing old look good. And, I personally think the biggest disparity from past generations is with baby boomer women. Martha Nelson, 65-year-old author of Black Chokeberry, a novel about three disparate older women coming together to share a home, said,

"We’re more worldly, stronger, financially savvy and healthier than our ancestors – through no fault of their own – and we know what we want.”

Yes, we certainly do. Have you recently noticed more ads on TV featuring older women with realistic body measurements? That’s because marketers and advertisers know 80% of baby boomer women control 80% of the wealth in the United States. 

The most important thing, however, is that we realize that, just as our demographic has impacted huge societal change through every stage of our lives, what we do as “geezers” will determine the process of aging for our children and grandchildren. We need to be responsible, yet innovative. As a demographic, we wield enormous power. But, with power, in any capacity, comes responsibility. Our descendants will live longer than we do. We need to make sure their “golden years” are just as exciting and fulfilling as we will inevitably make ours. We need to set the standard for aging. Let me know what you’re doing to set the standard for making growing older look good.