Surveying the Best Baby Boomer Blogs

     On her blog The Survive and Thrive Boomer Guide, Rita R. Robison, consumer journalist, offers various facts and figures to help seniors mark Older Americans Month.

     Yes, May is Older Americans Month. But . . . seniors? Older Americans? What does that have to do with us Baby Boomers?

     Oh yeah, as my daughter likes to remind me, there are a few gray hairs on my head and a few wrinkles creeping across my face. I'm not as facile with smartphone technology as she and her friends are. And she thinks my first language was Latin.*

Americans are living longer, and working longer too

     Or as Rita Robison puts it, "Although Baby Boomers don’t want to be called seniors, some of them are now age 65 and older. Born between 1946 and 1964, this year on their birthdays Boomers will turn between 50 and 68."

     She points out that today there are 43 million Americans over age 65. By the year 2060, that number is estimated to increase to . . . can you guess? (Hint: it's a lot.) Go over to Older Americans Month and see how close you are. In any case, I doubt the estimated number includes me -- I'd have to live well past 100 to be counted in the 2060 census.

     Speaking of our limited lifespan, Amy over at Modern Senior looks at Tikker, a new product scheduled for release next month that counts down the seconds until your death. (Really?!?) But hold on . . . the whole idea is that being aware of your mortality will actually make you happier and more present in the moment. Read more and weigh in with your thoughts at Will the Tikker Death Watch Make You Happier?

     As for me, I don't need to know how long I'm going to live, down to the second. But I do occasionally take those how-long-will-you-live quizzes. There may be some "better" ones out there (the "better" ones being those that estimate I'm going to live longer), but as I mentioned recently in Resources for Seniors, the one from University of Pennsylvania called How Long Will I Live? seems the most reasonable. It asks enough questions so you realize that it's using real data to estimate our life expectancy, without prying into every habit and taking and hour and a half to complete.

     Instead of focusing on when we'll die, Laura Lee Carter at Midlife Crisis Queen concentrates more on why we're here. In her post Have You Found Your Sense of Purpose Yet? she points out that according to new research a sense of purpose can add years to your life. "And according to my own research," she writes, "midlife is the best time to 'find your reason to be here!'"

  

      As for me, I spent the last few days not thinking about blogging. My family was visiting. My sister and her husband, from Phoenix, spent a day in New York City. My kids convened at my house, and then we all went out to dinner at a restaurant . . . where my daughter made her usual jokes about how well I know history because I was personal friends with some of our Founding Fathers. It was a restaurant across the street from the train station, because like many 20-somethings my kids are embarrassed to be seen in the suburbs, and they wanted to flee back to Brooklyn as soon as they possibly could.

     On Saturday we drove out to Jones Beach, on Long Island, where (as I mentioned on facebook) the air temperature was > 70; but the water temperature was < 60. But the point is, we all had a wonderful time. It's great for us older Americans -- I mean us healthy, vibrant Baby Boomers -- to get together with our families, reminisce about old times, and renew bonds with those people we know best. 

* I did study Latin in 7th, 8th and 9th grades, back when America was strong; schools taught readin', writin' and 'rithmetic; and I walked to school through the snow, uphill both ways. But then, my daughter studied Latin too, and persisted longer than I did, through her senior year in high school. I don't know what else Latin is good for, but it does help on your verbal SATs.

** Finally, an invitation to those who have read this far: If you're a Baby Boomer blogger, we do have a space or two open in our group of Best of Boomer Blogs. Want to join up to increase your reach and readership? Shoot me an email at tomsightings@gmail.com if you're interested.