BABYBOOMER CONNECTIONS - A Memoir
It is all
connected.
Life is not a series of isolated ponds and puddles;
it’s a river which flows from the past to the future.
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| Mum and Dad - Wedding Day |
The memoir spans the generations and the decades through which we have lived, as Generation ‘Babyboomers’; our lifetime a time of sweeping changes and exciting developments.
Connecting the Dots
At this age and stage, I need to ‘connect the dots’ in order to move towards
understanding the whole picture. The writing process has deepened the
conviction that so much of how we are now, is about how things were then
- when we were born and what was happening in the world at the time; our early
years, where we were in the pecking order, etc and turning points at
significant times, along with the personal choices we made to survive and grow
in the environment of the time.
No man is an
island
I’ve included some
of the major events of the decades some of which impacted on me personally
while others were outside of my usual comfortable bubble at the time so
avoiding a somewhat introspective document.
Those of us who were born in the 1940's, experienced an early childhood surrounded by
the drama of World War II; then for me a
period of stability following the war, a
teenager in the fifties or sixties; a young adult in the seventies. Were your eighties and nineties
involved in career or parenting or both?
And now the 20s with all its uncertainties?
I looked for common themes throughout my life and
the process of writing has given me a new perspective (not always comfortable)
where in looking to the past, patterns do emerge:- Creativity - always a different way of looking/thinking; Love and
protection of the outdoor environment; Enhancement of self - (I love to decorate); Love of good food; a
passion for preparing fresh food -
creatively yet with health; and wine
(quaffable); Joyful appreciation and love
of children, in particular facilitating their creative development; and in
latter years, a love of writing.
Above all, the need/appreciation of loving stable
family/friendship relationships, emerges with prime importance. I have a need to be authentic and hope that my
voice is true.
Examining the past
helps me to pull the strands together, and also in revisiting, perhaps reveals
a different perspective to take to the future in my third passage.
“It’s our psychological attitude and behaviour
that will more likely determine the quality and duration of our third age (65
+). Connecting, not
only with the past but with the future, can begin the journey towards choosing
between “passive” ageing and “successful” ageing.” Gail Sheedy
Clara
