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So, Boomers are Turning 60. What's All the Hype?
So, Boomers are Turning 60. What's All the Hype? By Dotsie Bregel
Founder and President of the National Association of Baby Boomer
Women and the # 1 site on all search engines for "baby boomer
women." www.nabbw.com www.BoomerWomenSpeak.com
People should know age has never meant anything to baby
boomers. We don't care about the years creeping up on us. We
simply care about feeling good and making a difference no matter
how old we are. Especially baby boomer women.
There are 38 million of us turning ages 42 to 60. The sheer
number of us is changing the image of midlife women like no
other generation before. Middle age finds us pondering how we've
lived the first half of our lives and what to do about the
second. Some of us are in the grips of a midlife crisis, going
through menopause or even considering cosmetic makeovers. Many
are caring for elderly parents while parenting our children and
working full time. But don't let that concern you. Boomer women
are reinventing themselves at midlife by choosing to follow
their passions.
As little girls we lived the simple life. Moms were at home
caring for their children and husbands; dads worked nine to five
and dinner was on the table at six. We jumped rope, played
hop-scotch, married off Barbie and Ken, and played with our Hula
Hoops and Slinkies. Violence in school meant the few boys who
threw eggs at the windows of their least favorite teacher. We
practiced duck-and-cover drills and wore silver bracelets with
our POW's name and birth date.
The first wave of boomer women came of age during the women's
movement and civil right's era. We protested Vietnam while
losing boyfriends in battle. Some of us burned our bras and
helped spark a sexual revolution in the 1960s and early '70s.
The second wave of boomer women benefited from the women's
movement. We had greater access to legal abortions and the pill.
We led a metamorphosis from housewives to career women. This
group came of age in the late 1970s and early '80s. We created
the diet and fitness craze, but were also responsible for
ushering in a society that is more global in its thinking while
becoming more conscious of individual rights and our
environment. In the 1960s, when some boomers were in diapers and
others entered adulthood, society-shaping events took place: the
assassinations of JFK, MLK, Malcolm X, and RFK; racial riots;
Roe v. Wade; the moon landing; and The Beatles. Woodstock, the
celebration of peace, love, and rock and roll, codified a
generational divide once and for all.
As young women we were told the world was our oyster. We should
DO something with our lives. We should never become dependent on
a man. We were the generation that could have it all, do it all,
and be it all. Education, Prince Charming, families,
careers--you name it and we could have it. We chose diverse
paths. Some of us aborted our babies while others gave birth.
Some chose the corporate ladder while others chose to stay home.
Some lived together while friends married. Some of us divorced
and became single moms while others chose to stay in loveless
marriages.
We chose to
challenge ideas and reinvent lifestyles. We altered
the traditional role of the sexes as we played tug-of-war with
work and home. Believing the voices we heard, we attacked life
with a vengeance, entering the workforce while exchanging our
roller skates for pumps, candy necklaces for pearls, and wax
lips for lip gloss. We returned to the workplace three months
after giving birth, pumping our breasts at lunchtime. The
societal expectation was for us to work. Our self worth was
questioned when we chose to stay home like our mothers before
us. Staying home meant we didn't get a pay check and chanced
missing the next rung on that corporate ladder. We felt guilty
leaving our children in child care while our friends who stayed
home felt guilty for not working. At midlife the 40s and 50s are
no longer as old as we once thought. We are more educated,
spiritual, wealthy, and healthier than any generation of women
to precede us. We've changed society's expectation and continue
to redefine womanhood. We will be the biggest and richest market
segment by the year 2010.
At midlife we're transforming and influencing every segment of
society. With children leaving the nest, we have time to
reflect. We're going inward, hiring life coaches, exploring, and
finding new direction. We're seeking spiritual guidance and
questioning if we've been true to ourselves or society's
expectations. We're searching for peace, solace, and direction
for the rest of our days on earth and the afterlife. We're
seeking balance and pursuing our passions. We're no longer
obsessed with being who others want us to be. We're finding
contentment in who we are being called to be.
We've had more choices than our mother's generation and have
lived and continue to navigate uncharted courses. We are
pioneers in our own right. We're faithful, loving, and
hard-working women who multi-task to survive. We continue to
better ourselves so we can help those who need us. We come from
various backgrounds carrying different baggage. We love our
country. We're trying to be all that we can be.
At midlife we're celebrating and reflecting while experiencing
midlife epiphanies. We are wise women who have lived, loved, and
enjoyed making a difference. And will continue to do so.
About the Author - Dotsie Bregel is Executive Founder the
National Association of Baby Boomer Women, www.nabbw.com, which
encourages women to find their passions and live life to the
fullest. She is also the Founder of Boomer Women Speak,
www.boomerwomenspeak.com, the # 1 site on the Web for baby
boomer women. She is passionate about women encouraging,
connecting, and supporting one another. She may be reached
through her sites.
About the author:
Dotsie Bregel is Executive Founder the National Association of
Baby Boomer Women, www.nabbw.com, which encourages women to find
their passions and live life to the fullest. She is also the
Founder of Boomer Women Speak, www.boomerwomenspeak.com, the # 1
site on the Web for baby boomer women. She is passionate about
women encouraging, connecting, and supporting one another. She
may be reached through her sites.
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