Tawanda

A love letter to the Boomers

If you’ve ever seen and related to this iconic moment in the movie Fried Green Tomatoes you will want to keep reading.

This scene is where Kathy Bates’ character gathers up every ounce of her power and refuses to be taken advantage of any more! The declaration TAWANDA that she yells out has been in my vocabulary ever since, whenever I connect to my inner strength or WANT to.

So why am I sharing this with you? Because as we get older, we often feel a little ‘less than’ our younger counterparts. We may feel as though we can’t keep up or that we are having trouble coming to terms with our age at some level. Some of us feel less attractive than the young’uns (and this goes for men as well as women), while others long for the good old days when they were unstoppable. I’m here to declare that we Boomers still have it. We are still millions strong and we still carry a lot of weight (don’t say it ).

I want to take a few moments to acknowledge those of us who are older and wiser. We are a community and I would like to keep it that way. We don’t even know each other and yet… we KNOW each other. No matter where we are from, chances are that we’ve watched the same TV shows, seen the same movies and had a similar upbringing. Our history is different than anyone else’s and only we can relate to it.

We know what it’s like to be older than a lot of todays technology and yet, if you are reading this or writing your own blog, you are probably doing OK in that area.

We have become so much younger than our parents were at this age. Young enough to stay active, start businesses and be incredible role models for other generations. Even the movie industry is catering to our age group because we STILL have buying power. We still OWN this country. Our music is timeless. We had the Beatles and Woodstock for goodness sake. What can ever compare to that?

I’ve always loved being a boomer, we were ‘it’. I am proud to be a part of a community that is so diverse yet so connected. You are my family at some level. You are my people and I’m so happy to grow older with you.

I want to take this moment to appreciate us and to honor us. We are seasoned individuals, thirsty for the future while still basking in and appreciating our past. If you are feeling the same way, if you love being a boomer and proud to be in a world of people who survived much, thrived even more and continue to live until there’s no life left in us, then I want to hear from you. Share with me how you feel connected to other boomers. What makes you proud to be one? And if you are not a Boomer, what about us makes a difference in your life. Thank you for being my ‘tribe’