You don’t have to be a boomer to appreciate the value of time.
1946 to 1964
If you were born between the years 1946 and 1964, you’re in the Baby Boomer (“boomer”) generation category. According to MedicareWorld, “There are over 76 million baby boomers and their ages range from 50s to 70s now.”
Have you noticed lately how many people in pop culture are dying? It seems like every day, the news flashes with a death article. A lot of them are boomers. It’s depressing because you grew up with a lot of them. But then you get to remember (if you’re a boomer) that boomers invented pop culture!
What does this mean? It means if you’re a boomer, you better be doing what you love to do now.
Today’s baby boomers are the biggest, wealthiest, and longest-living generation in modern American history. But they are coming to the end of their lives, and there are many more of them than there will be people among their successors. They’re turning 70, 80, and 90 at record numbers. For years, questions have been raised as to how society should plan for the needs of an aging population.
Baby boomers made up the first consumer generation. They grew up in the television age, watching mass media emerge from their living rooms, embracing sex-driven, racially integrated rock and roll — Elvis, Jimi Hendrix, the Beatles — all of it fueled by the world’s first true mass audiences. (Source.)
Baby Boomers are aging, but they’re still fabulous
Maybe I’m saying that because I’m a boomer. But I’m so high energy, I don’t feel like one. And I'm not even close to having a head full of gray hair yet. I knew my dad didn’t like aging because he said to me once, “I still feel the same inside.” Don’t we all? Don’t some of us need to be reminded we’re not 18 anymore? And my mom also said, “Make sure you live!” They both gave birth to two children who are boomers.
If you’re a relatively healthy boomer, remember to stay active and productive. Read to stir your brain! Read to think. Read to imagine.
Aging boomers might feel that retirement means less of that and more of this. It’s not just grandkiddos and golf and shopping for sales. You need to pursue what you never had time to do because you were working so hard.
Expand on your hobbies. Landscape the side of your house you’ve been putting off for a decade. Be a volunteer somewhere — maybe at a school or church. If you’ve been carrying around a dream for years, make it happen now. If you wanted it at 30, have it at 80 unless it’s skydiving — oh wait! I think someone in their 80s did go skydiving. There’s no maximum age limit in the U.S. to skydive.
There is no maximum age limit on skydiving. At 103 years old and 181 days, Alfred “Al” Blaschke was the oldest man to skydive from a moving plane at an impressive 14,000 feet as of 2020. (Source.)
When it comes to aging, many Baby Boomers have it good. They’ve got higher incomes than previous generations. Some are living longer and some have healthier lives.
Still, there are some Baby Boomers stuck in jobs that don’t interest them. Some people say, “If you love what you do, you’ll never work a day in your life.” That may be true for younger workers who maintain their health and enjoy the daily grind of a more physical job. But for boomers and others trying to adapt their jobs as they get older, especially those with health issues that require less demanding tasks, working at a job that doesn’t hold much interest can feel like actual work. As a result, millions of workers over age 55 are frustrated when they aren’t able to do what they like or dream about doing — sometimes because they’re worried about money or benefits but also because too many companies still cling to old attitudes about older employees.
Despite their improving life expectancies, the oldest baby boomers will soon turn 70, and begin to die off in ever-greater numbers. Today, there are about 2.6 million deaths every year, but this number will rise to over 4 million a year by 2050. Meanwhile, births are also projected to increase over the same time period, but only by about 500,000. (Source.)
According to a report in the state I live in, the Missouri Senior Report, the senior population being defined as those 65 and older, had steadily increased from 2000 to 2010. The report said the first boomers reached age 65 in 2011. And that has been growing since then across the country.
The number of seniors in Missouri will continue to increase dramatically over the next several years, reaching over 20% by 2030. This means that approximately one in five neighbors, friends, family members will be senior citizens. (Source.)
If you’re a boomer, here’s my advice:
- If able, stay physical and mentally productive
- Read to think, stimulate, and imagine
- Everybody ages, but remember that due to medical advances, people are living longer, so don’t be a crybaby because you’re getting older
- Write a book about your life for your children or grandies and if you don’t have either, write one anyway
- Be a positive thinker — I firmly believe attitude is part of the equation to longevity
- Stop saying you have to get something added to your bucket list — add it and do it
- Be a walker and less of a talker because exercise is good for you
- Stop putting off getting healthy because if you wait too long, you’ll be sorry
- Realize the dreams you’ve been putting off for too long
Thanks much for reading! Be a positive boomer!
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