Change

“…the torch has been passed to a new generation of Americans…” JFK

Dear Fellow Boomers, Generation Xers,  Millleneals, and  Centennials, 

The coronavirus pandemic is changing our lives.  

One of these changes I hope we all see clearly is that the people who are among the most at risk are us – your parents/grandparents.  

We are what demographers call Baby Boomers, the people characterized by the great increase in population that began with those born soon after our fathers returned from WW2.  Demographers say this is people born between 1946 and 1964.  For the sake of this blog post, just think of this group as being 60 and older. 

Our time as family leaders/care providers has come and is now going, if not already gone.  Except for a few remaining members of the Silent Generation (Too young to serve in WW2) and a very few members of the Greatest Generation (Those who endured the Depression & WW2) we Boomers now collectively make up what are commonly referred to as “Old People.”

Covid 19 has made it abundantly clear that it is time for Boomers to Step Aside.  Like it or not “the old grey mare ain’t what she used to be.”  If we have not already retired, it is time to get serious about retiring.  

There are several reasons for this, most connected directly to the pandemic:

1. Most of us Boomers are not really needed in the work force any longer, younger more energetic people with new ideas and skills are going to be better able to shape the future. 
2. The economic fallout from the world-wide pandemic means that those Boomers who can afford do so need to make room in the job market for younger workers.  Boomers will have to make personal individualized decisions regarding whether they can retire now. If they can afford to retire, Boomers should seriously consider if it is not time to do just that.
3. Depending on how the pandemic plays out, we Boomers may have to be “locked down” for a long time.  It is not wise for us to place ourselves in close contact which many jobs require. Younger, healthier people who are less at risk will have to fill in. 
4. There are many other ways for Boomers to contribute to society: Volunteerism, Assisting with Child Rearing, and Philanthoropy.  Boomers can also help by reducing their own resource and environmental footprint by scaling back consumption, travel, and frivolous spending.

For those of us who grew up with Bob Dylan, The Beatles, and The Stones, and still yearn for the good old days of “drugs, sex, and rock and roll,” this is a rude awakening. 

Covid 19 has made it all real. Now we Boomers are among those with a target on our backs.  This risk to/for us old folks is magnified greatly by underlying medical conditions like heart issues, asthma, diabetes, not to mention cancer. 

Sure, we are all going to die someday, but like Country Music’s Kenny Chesney relayed in one of his hit songs, “We all wanna go to heaven, But we don’t wanna go now.”  

For those of us in high risk categories, my advice is the same as that provided by the flight attendants, “put our own oxygen masks on first!”  In some cases that will mean saying “no” to requests for help from our kids or from our parents.

Those of you who are now in the “parent” generation (Mostly Millennials born between 1977 and 1995) need to switch roles, at least for a while, and refrain from asking for help from your Boomer parents. 

This will in many cases be very inconvenient. You will need to find help with childcare, but this time support will have to come from others, not your elders. Before putting your parents at risk, please ask yourself if you are trading personal “inconvenience” for the health of your parents.

As parents ourselves and now as grandparents, we elders will have a difficult time disconnecting from those we love dearly.  It will be extremely difficult if not impossible for us to actually say “no.”  What I am suggesting is that younger persons think long and hard before asking for help from those who are at most risk.

The good news with this virus is that the grandkids are at the least risk.  And healthy parents should be fine.  Those who are healthy, and it appears the vast majority of healthy people can handle Covid 19, will need to step up to replace those of us Boomers who should be dropping out of the workforce. 

It may be that this is a temporary situation and that “normalcy” will return.  Maybe not.

Change is not always bad news.  Darwin has been quoted as saying words to the effect that it is not the strongest nor the most intelligent who survive, it is those that are the most adaptable to change. 

One upside to this change for us boomers is the aforementioned roll that can be played as mentors and teachers in ways that were not possible in the past.  Technology has given us direct visual and audio access to grandchildren anywhere in the world.  Innovative Boomers are taking the skills and knowledge they learned over a lifetime and sharing it directly online in ways not possible only a few years ago.  

We boomers will have to rethink our retirement plans based on the likelihood of new more austere economic situations.  Do we really want to go on cruises, travel Internationally, juggle living in two locations, enter a “group senior living” situation, or live in a dense urban environment..  I have no answers to any of these questions, I just see that “change gonna come.” 

Either way, the torch is passed.  We boomers are headed for the pasture.  You younger generations have grown up and now It is your time to start looking out for your parents as well as your own kids. Oh yeah, you younger folk are also going to have to take the place of the retiring Boomers in the work force, probably sooner than would have been the case.  This may be an opportunity for advancement and innovation.   Welcome to the Sandwich generation.  

It is time to pass the torch.