Millennials

Millennials are the generation born from the early 1980's to early 2000. My two daughters are Millennial. The largest and most diverse population in the United States, they came into adulthood after a protracted period of economic downturn. Unlike the way their baby-boom parents were raised, who often flourished in a  benign-neglect sort of way, they were focused on with intensity.

They were raised to think about what they would want to do for the rest of their lives, not what job would help them to keep up with the Joneses. Their parents, on the other hand, did just that.

One of the more interesting statistics to come out is that Millennials actually like their parents. This generation often chooses to live close to parents and families. 23% actually reside with parents now. One reason can be attributed to the job market, and corresponding downward pressure on salary and benefits, but not all of it. Millennials are close to their parents. They like and get along with them. Extended families are "in."

They are an optimistic group, despite the myriad of problems they face. Shaped by technology, they share more easily than other generations. They are creative and work better in teams and groups. They are not religious. They tend to identify more as Seekers.  (Which is right up my alley, having always been one.) What is weird, is that they are less sexual - yes, you read that right. Despite all the sex we see on television, they are less sexually active. They are also marrying later in life.

This group will fix our institutions, government, and infrastructure. They will redesign education.

Why do I think they will accomplish all of these things? Because each successive generation deals with the problems (or solutions) of the previous generation. Once we finally get out of their way, both politically and in the job market, they'll go about their business. They'll work with Generation X, who tend to be no-nonsense task masters, and they'll figure it out.

One word that continues to pop up in conversations with my Millennials, and may actually define their generation is sustainability. Unlike previous generations, they are less likely to own their own home, and they often prefer living in urban settings.

So, they may live with us in our big houses now, but when they think about their own home, it is not a McMansion.

Stop Whining and Get To Work!

My daughter sent me this piece on Generation Y and why they are so unhappy. I thought it quite accurate and found myself taking full responsibility for encouraging our two girls to follow their dreams. (And maybe of convincing them they are special.) Of course, this was before the banking cartel tanked our economy and the Supreme Court decided to declare corporations people, thus allowing the tidal wave of money lobbyists use to buy support for their clients. This was before unions were busted in order to lower the wages for all workers by people like the Koch brothers.

No, in those days we Baby Boomers had great hope for the future. We followed the rules, worked hard, and saved for our children's educations. We believed in our government and our military to do the right thing for everyone involved. (This was before we realized the CIA and all of the other alphabet agencies had actually been tanking whole countries to ensure their corporate handlers had free access to said countries natural resources - but that is another post.)

The part that got my goat, actually, was all of the comments following the article that wanted to blame Boomers for their bleak economic outlook. Many of the comments actually told us to move on - quit working - retire, already! They need our jobs and believe us to be selfish in holding on when it is clear to them we are to blame for all of their troubles.

So here is my response to them -

Boomers are not working to irritate your generation. We are working because we have to work! Many have lost their homes, their savings, and any hope of being able to pass anything on to the next generation.

Boomers are working because they need health care and can not afford to pay out-of-pocket. One major illness and many of us are on the street.

Boomers are working to help their children, grandchildren, and other family members.

Boomers are working so they don't have to move in with their children!

While my generation has to take responsibility for voting in Clinton, who was the first to ship our jobs overseas and to do away with Glass-Steagall, which opened the door to the banking debacle, we truly believed in the load of garbage they sold us. We may have been perplexed how sending our jobs out of the country could actually help us -  but we still believed in our elected officials knowing more than we did about the world.

Same with Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, Wolfowitz, et al. We bought all of their lies, even though we were uneasy. Two wars later, we are bankrupt, in debt, and starting to smell a rat...

Not so with Obama. We can now see that the NSA spying on everything we do, warmongering in the Middle East, the NDAA, and the Monsanto Protection Act cannot be considered in our best interest. To say I am disappointed in a president, that I voted for twice, is an understatement. But he hasn't done this alone - Congress has passed every single one of those policies.

This last week made one thing clear, however - nothing will change unless we change it. And quite frankly, it's time for the X and Y generation to turn off their cell phones, take a break from Facebook and Twitter and get involved in the process. The future is in your hands. Call your representatives in Washington, email your President, email your Secretary of State. Start petitions and sign ones that come your way that try to reign in the evil doers that are in control. Boomers can't do it without you. And there is one thing Congress understands - voters willing to make a change in the next election cycle.

All of their numbers are right here.

So, stop whining and get to work!

Were you alive in the 60's?

I am always amazed how time just creeps along and before you know it you are several decades older. For the last few days I've lain awake trying to remember who I was during the 1960's. I was in high school, graduating in 1971, and for the most part lonely. My mother died in 1960, setting off a decade of feeling awkward. Actually more than a decade, but that's another story. I had plenty of friends, but you can still feel lonely surrounded by people. That feeling comes from within.

Growing through your teens without a mother to fight with is not easy. Dads just don't hold the same place in a young women's heart when it comes to differentiation. High school was hard for me - many of my friends had dropped out and I was the only one on the bus in the morning heading to classes I knew in my heart I needed to attend. I've always been that way. A knowing of the right thing to do, even when my brain says to cut and run, who needs school? Or why not just continue drinking and partying, when I knew it was destructive in so many ways? I guess we all know the right things to do way ahead of actually paying the consequences - we just ignore them. Or not, if we're smart, and actually pay attention to our little voice. Mine was sometimes very authoritative - maybe my mother adding vehemence when it was needed?

It was a wild decade. Many of the same issues as this one - war, recession, a society polarized. Peace, love, dope was the rallying cry. The dope was pot, not the harder drugs that materialized in the next decade. I'll talk about that later. No, the sixties for me was about being young, very young, and not being allowed to participate in the really cool iconic happenings such as Woodstock, or Haight Ashbury in San Francisco. My father would have killed me, even if I could have found a way to get there. Another issue about the 60's for me - I didn't have a car. I did not get a car when I turned sixteen. (The horror!) I took public transportation, or bummed a ride from those friends lucky enough to have one.

I did manage to see BB King in San Francisco at the Filmore. Of course I lied. Do you think my father would have let me crawl into some car driven by "hippies" to go all the way to San Francisco? (Maybe 200 miles?) Naw.

So the 1960's for me was a decade of mostly being too young to be a part of the action. I did however lose two friends to a car accident while they were drinking, which ruined my graduation party because my dad took the distributor cap out of the ($150) car he had bought me for graduation. It was being held out at Pyramid Lake, the same place my friends died, and he wasn't about to let me go. It was so traumatizing then and now it just sounds responsible. Would I have let my girls go to the same party in the same place a decade later? Of course not. Did they do something as equally dumb? Probably. But I did sign them up for the "booze-free" party with their class. Which turned out to not be as booze-free as all the parents had hoped. Kids are incredibly crafty when it comes to circumventing the rules.

So where were you in the 60's? Were you a "hippie" or a "straight"? Or were you somewhere in the middle like me? Were you for, or against, the "establishment"? My husband, the only guy in the universe who went to the University of Oregon in 1969, and was a total "straight." One of those guys who was in ROTC because he knew as soon as he graduated he was off to Vietnam, and thought he might as well go as an officer. How he ever ended up with me is a wonder. But I've always been grateful he paid attention in school. It worked out well for both of us.

So who were you in the 1960's?

Were you even born?

An Addendum: Read: latkas and New Year's Rant to get a great recipe and read a well-written post on the 1960's and our lack of follow-up, plus a call to this generation by My Year On The Grill.  BTW - if you want to link to any of my posts by joining in the conversation on your blog, you can link at the bottom of my post where it says Links to this post.

Life Stages

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We are visiting with several generations of family this week. I'm enjoying all the stages of life, from my grandson at 22 months, who is just learning to communicate, my daughter and son-in-law with all of the stresses and fun of a new family, and my youngest, fresh out of college. We are in the mix, grandparents who are semi-retired due to the worst economy in our lifetime.

My grandson is the glue. He keeps everyone entertained and always hopeful. He is a joy to be around. We all adore him, and he responds in kind. My youngest is looking for new roommates, more in line with the things she likes to do. We bore her with our staying home at night and lack of enthusiasm for music festivals and bluegrass.

My older daughter and son-in-law, on the other hand, find grandparents very useful. Having a built-in babysitter, and others willing to entertain said grandson is valuable. Never to be underestimated. Freeing.

We are also visiting my mother-in-law, recently widowed and 97 years old. She lives in a lovely retirement home, but as she becomes more fragile, we are waiting for that time when we will move her from her small apartment to assisted living. That time may be very soon.

We are in the post-mid part of our life. Young enough to enjoy it, and old enough to know better than to take it for granted. We watch friends our own age struggle with life-threatening illnesses, and we know that for this moment in time we are blessed. Our family intact, our health stable. But we are also sandwiched, like so many of you. Aging parents, children struggling to get a foothold in life.

All the life stages. All with beauty and uncertainty.

I guess that's what it's all about. Enjoying the ride. It careens right along, sweeping us up, moving us along, and eventually it puts us down. It's the sweet moments, the sunsets, the laughs, the kisses, that make it all worthwhile. A good reminder to pay attention to those moments. When all is said and done, it's our memories and the things we paid attention to that will determine a life well-lived ... or not.