tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2464977109229359349.post1202252538889238141..comments2023-10-21T03:54:12.029-04:00Comments on A Gift Universe: My generationSheilahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10853868724554947854noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2464977109229359349.post-63212890818794848332013-05-18T16:25:15.009-04:002013-05-18T16:25:15.009-04:00See, that's the thing. Not wanting to put for...See, that's the thing. Not wanting to put forth the effort to maintain something you don't actually value isn't laziness -- it's a value difference. But for some reason, people who care about you often don't want to admit there IS a value difference. They'd rather assume you think the way they do and are just lazy. I'm not sure why this is.<br /><br />There are lots of Baby Boomers I like ... individually. It's the societal trends I don't like, for instance, the way they vote. But even the ones I love sometimes like to toss around these vague put-downs, and I just don't like it. I try not to return in kind. It just seems there's an extreme enmity between us and the Boomers that makes it hard to respect each other's life choices.Sheilahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10853868724554947854noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2464977109229359349.post-42528316335542706912013-05-17T16:30:13.595-04:002013-05-17T16:30:13.595-04:00+JMJ+
Oh, I don't think you were coming acro...+JMJ+ <br /><br />Oh, I don't think you were coming across as anti anything! I'm not too keen on the Boomers myself, but for my Boomer friend's sake, I usually manage to forget my grievances. =P But Catholic Boomers in particular do hear some really hurtful stuff from the "Young Fogey" generation: comments like, "We're just waiting until you die." <br /><br />It has been a while since I mentioned <i>The Last Psychiatrist</i>, but this discussion is reminding me of one post he wrote in defense of Millennials. He said that the supposedly "most narcissistic generation" in the world was actually only the <i>second</i> most narcissistic generation . . . because we learned everything we know from our parents. LOL!!! Personally, I'd say he was painting with a very broad brush, but I agree with his point that an older generation should ask itself how it influenced the younger, and not just assume that they <i>haven't</i> influenced the younger just because the latter aren't toeing the line. <br /><br />Although I'm in a decent job now and am willing to keep my nose to the grindstone for as long as necessary, I also know that it's not what I want to do forever. And since part of what makes it necessary is that my family is living an unsustainable lifestyle, of course my idea of a long-term, practical solution is to make our lifestyle more sustainable. But that actually doesn't go down too well with some older members of my family, who say that's just my excuse for being "lazy."Enbrethilielhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03414765854670926854noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2464977109229359349.post-85612665054094361032013-05-17T08:25:25.597-04:002013-05-17T08:25:25.597-04:00What is ironic is that the money we're losing ...What is ironic is that the money we're losing to social security sometimes prevents us from paying back the money we owe our parents. So it's kind of a cycle, you know? I'd be happy to send my own parents a check, but the notion that Donald Trump can get my money is a bit much. I also would like to be able to take in my parents myself when they are too old to live alone, which is a much cheaper and less bureaucratic system than paying money to the Social Security Administration so that they, in turn, can pay for my parents to live in a sub-par nursing home. That's kind of like how I feel about subsidized daycare. It's great for people who need to use daycare, but it makes it even more prohibitive for me to provide my own childcare.<br /><br />E, I'm sorry if I come across as a bit anti-Boomer. It's hard not to be when you're reading article after article about how narcissistic we are, how lazy we are, how selfish we are, and how we're really not at all special despite what we think. It's like they are personally offended that we (generally) feel pretty okay about ourselves. Of course as we get older we have to learn to "close," as you put it ... but if we were the other way around, we'd spend our middle years trying to make peace with our crappy self-esteem, so there's that. You don't turn 18 or 21 and suddenly become perfect.<br /><br />Oddly I've always liked Gen X. They get so much grief from everyone because their teenage years were so bumpy and because they don't look like "go-getters," but they strike me as humble and kind people overall. Of course that's a sweeping generalization, but it's Gen-Xers leaving encouraging comments on my Facebook statuses about how it gets better in a few years, and it's Gen-Xers who founded all those tech companies like Apple that have made such a difference in our lives. It tends to be Gen-X politicians I prefer to vote for, as well, and Gen-X priests I can count on for sound doctrine.<br /><br />You definitely have a point in your last couple of sentences. I was quite annoyed with my husband for the first couple of years we were married because he wasn't happy with any of the jobs he had. And I thought they were great jobs, because they paid the bills. I was sure his attitude would lead to a life of grief because he refused to "settle" for the daily grind of doing something he wasn't crazy about.<br /><br />But that restlessness led him to move slowly from one job to the next, getting his masters, and honing his idea of what he wanted to be doing. And he's getting there! I'm so glad he didn't just stay put at any of those other jobs, because now he actually comes home happy most of the time.<br /><br />Ditto for me. I wanted to stay home and have kids, and I worked my tail off saving up before they were born (and pinching pennies after) to make sure it happened. I'm not sure Boomers quite understand the notion of settling for a life of being poor rather than settling for a job you don't love. We understand that there is a choice -- we just don't find being poor so terrifying as all that.<br /><br />That's why you see more volunteering, renewed interest in homesteading, exciting but unpaid internships, internet businesses, and really all kinds of ways of patching together a living. We haven't been willing to settle for the daily grind our parents told us we would have to .... and that's actually working out pretty well for us.Sheilahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10853868724554947854noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2464977109229359349.post-76007536971241609382013-05-16T13:14:46.075-04:002013-05-16T13:14:46.075-04:00+JMJ+
Generations theory is fascinating, isn'...+JMJ+ <br /><br />Generations theory is fascinating, isn't it? =) <br /><br />Baby Boomers get maligned a lot these days, too. Mostly by those pesky Gen-Xers! ;-) I have a Boomer friend who is fed up with being blamed for all the problems of the Church and likes to say that everything Gen-X says about his generation will be said about them by the next one . . . which is our own! What goes around comes around, aye? <br /><br />Knowing that the next generation will not be kind to <i>us</i>, I'm trying to be as fair as possible. Instead of looking at who is to blame for what, how about just acknowledging that different generations would misunderstand what the other finds most important? Millennials may seem lazy and shiftless for not wanting to get a "normal" job and to earn their lumps the "traditional" way, but we would also be willing to work really hard on something like a homestead. Or you know, a blog. =P Enbrethilielhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03414765854670926854noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2464977109229359349.post-36983153369803705692013-05-16T11:57:24.676-04:002013-05-16T11:57:24.676-04:00Hear hear! Also, Encarta! Wow, just hearing that b...Hear hear! Also, Encarta! Wow, just hearing that brand name brings back a slew of memories. <br /><br />The only thing I'd disagree with is the idea that SS deductions feels like an insult. I don't mind it, but then again, I have both a paycheck and a financially solvent but not wealthy parent/family, so I don't really mind [yet?] the concept of putting money towards helping to support my parents and grandparents. . . it does feel dicey when I start thinking that it also goes to help those who ARE wealthy, but that's not close enough to my personal bubble for it to plague me much. <br /><br />Thanks for writing this! I'm going to have to check out the excerpts behind those links. Heather Cnoreply@blogger.com