The Accidental Blogger
Guest Post From The People at Jobless 50s.
I am a 50ish woman who for the past 33 years has had the role of mother, wife, and dutiful employee. There was never any time to do anything other than the endless tasks. The pressure then and now is to raise children who are not only good students but accomplished at something by the tender age of five. So I encouraged the piano lessons, soccer, lacrosse, and everything in between. This added the title of taxi driver and social coordinator. I acquired another time consuming activity to balance with a full time job.
When our daughters left for college, I thought now I get my time/life back. Unfortunately both my husband and I had aging parents with health issues. The time was then taken with doctor visits, home attendants and navigating the world of Medicare. Our daughters are now in their late twenties and are both doing well. We are empty-nesters. I quit my job. I thought I could catch up on all the chores around the house that had long been neglected. I cleaned, scrubbed and approached being at home with gusto. My sisters encouraged me to get on with my life. It was my time. They gave me a computer for my birthday. The first thing I did was check my email and found 345 messages in my inbox. Becoming more at ease with this technology, I joined Facebook. I started surfing and to my surprise found that I had not kept up with anything. The world had changed and I was still tethered to the old one. When did I get old? My last recollection was my age bracket was part of the in-crowd. The block of people that advertisers, employers and thought leaders wanted to hear from. The reality was, I had slipped from the thirty to forty nine demographics into a group that no one cared about. No one cared about my buying habits except AARP, pharmaceuticals companies, life insurance and pre-paid burial insurance. I seldom know celebrities on television who are suppose to influence my decisions. The ads for anti-aging products and hair color star people who will not have to deal with these issues for another twenty to thirty years. The movie industry does not seem to have any interest in making movies that feature a mature cast. Even when the occasional film starring someone like Jeff Bridges, Morgan Freeman or Helen Mirren is a blockbuster, they are written off as flukes. How can this be? How can a community that was raised by “the greatest generation” be irrelevant?
I became committed to finding a way for the baby boomer community to communicate and support each other. I decided not to let my limited experience with computers hold me back. I started a blog with my husband with the confidence that this old dog can learn a new trick. Our site is in its infancy but it is up and running. Our goal is for this forum to grow and become better at serving its target audience. With our determination and support from all of you, we have no doubt that this can be useful to a special group of people.
We are a vibrant group of people who live actively and responsibly. Yet we are also the generation that has redefined the concept of age and have no plans of slowing down. I hope our blog gives voice to this important community of people. We have varied interest and life styles. We are still consumers and have time to pursue our passions along with our needs. Working together, we can gain the respect and representation we deserve.
We do not have to experience life’s hurdles alone. We can share thoughts and ideas with each other. Perhaps one of you has just the advice or word of wisdom that someone else needs at the moment. It can be uplifting to know that someone else has gone through what you are going through and survived intact.