The Baby Boom officially was considered to have occurred over a 25 year span from 1946 to 1964. It was a huge increase of 1.5 million more births than would otherwise have occurred a huge increase of 18% more than would otherwise have been expected and totalled about 8.6 million births.
The oldest of us now are 67, the youngest born in 1964 are now 49 and in fact, are therefore not really 'young' anymore.
Being a Baby Boomer, one thing I know about my group is that none of us are likely to either admit, or even grudgingly concede, that we are old. Most attempts by advertisers and seniors organization at attracting our membership are doomed to fall flat, since we still feel young enough, to think that is what our parents and grandparents are, not us.
We might however, if you catch us off guard, secretly admit (probably in a whisper, under duress) that it has been a long time, since we would not 'trust anyone over 30'.
The youngest group is considerably different than the oldest, not just because there is a great age span of 25 years, because of course, someone 49 will not be the same as someone 67 years of age. This age span, in other periods would have been considered another generation. It is very different in character, personality, lifestyles and values between the youngest and the oldest.
Some of the youngest of the Baby Boom, might conceivably live to be a 100 (or more) and therefore might still be alive in 2064 and live in a world we would no longer recognize. In fact, what a different world it is now from that which when we were children.
The older ones among us, participated, in very big changes to the world around us. We were growing up at a time when a natural evolution of the society around us was taking place. This was the start of what has been a period of unrivalled prosperity for most of our society. It was also the post second world war period when people were once again able to return to their normal civilian lives.
Getting married, beginning to have a family and buying a home of your own, was perhaps the goal of most people at that time. Within a short time however, all of these children needed schools and from 1959 onward became teenagers moving toward adulthood. By 1977 even the youngest were teenagers, by 2004 even the youngest was 40, no doubt as shocked or even more so, than we were to reach 40.
By the time the younger group was old enough to travel alone, there was usually enough extra money so that they could make trips to almost anywhere in the world, even before their 20's. This affluence enabled many more people than ever before to get a better education and in general, have the possibility of better and longer lives as well.
Society began to undergo very great changes, with peaceful prosperity and a very large group both taking part in them and propelling them also. To some extent, we created some of the changes because of our numbers. The younger ones wanting to be like the older ones and the older among us picking up what the younger and even youngest in this Baby Boom group were doing as well.
As the older ones among us aged, we did not want to be left out of anything and so participated in many new and exciting changes throughout all of our lives and continue to do so. Language and expression weren't the only part of our lives that keep changing.
As I prepared to celebrate the 50th Anniversary (yikes) of my Grade School last Sunday, I wondered where the time has gone. I don't feel I am that old, although recently a number of younger women are calling me ma'am, and younger men are (to my astonishment) calling me dear, when they meet me. I must be becoming my mother more quickly than I thought, and although this isn't a bad thing, I don't think I am ready, just yet, to concede old age. I certainly have a lot of things I want to do with a wish list a mile long, and great exuberance and energy and impatience to want to do many of them soon.
Being a Baby Boomer, I suspect none of us do, and likely, none of us will, concede that we are old(er) now. We might however, secretly admit (in a whisper, under duress) that, it has been a long time since we wouldn't 'trust anyone over 30' or in fact, were 30 ourselves.
In my case, being born on the half century, every year I have lived is part of the Boomer core age group, the largest cohort ever, growing up, maturing and changing ourselves and the world around us as we moved through the years. In some ways we might be considered a large lava flow, inexorably moving ahead, changing the landscape around us. I have to wonder whether anyone could have either intended or imagined some of the changes that occurred because of the sheer size of our cohort.
I can't help wondering also whether the new ideas coming from those younger than us, as they grow up and become adults, will change society even more greatly than those we have already seen.
I am really looking forward to seeing what happens, in the next 10 years and after; am really enjoying many things, particularly in the technologies proliferating; generating new ideas as imagination is given free rein.
NOTE; RELATED ARTICLES #1- BABY BOOMERS - I JUST WANT TO CELEBRATE ANOTHER DAY OF LIVING and #2 - BABY BOOMERS - TALKING ABOUT MY GENERATION STEPPING UP - BOTH FROM APRIL 2013)
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