"In this sticky web that we're all in, behaving decently is no small task." -- Novelist Stacey D'Erasmo

Sunday, May 23, 2021

Some Intriguing Questions

      We have a lot of questions going on in our minds these days. Have you been vaccinated? Do we have to wear masks? Is the Colonial pipeline back in service? Are those UFO sightings for real?

     Well, we Baby Boomers have some questions of our own.

     Have you ever heard of the Teacup List? Instead of the Bucket List with its dramatic before-I-die goals, and the panicked feeling you get when you realize you haven't gone on that cross-country road trip or parachuted in the Gobi Desert, you focus on the smaller, more doable things . . . like the ones Laurie Stone of Musing, Rants & Scribbles outlines in What's on Your Summer Teacup List? 

The Coleman Still
   Carol Cassara of the blog Heart, Mind Soul, asks: Do you ever think of times gone by? At our age, she says, we've got enough years behind us to remember a lot of places and a lot of people. In When Memories Take Us to a Different World she reflects on some friends -- and a California eatery called The Coleman Still -- from back in the hazy days of the 1990s.

     Can social media be fun? Yes, according to Rebecca Olkowski. But it can also be intimidating, especially when you see people your own age flaunting what they have done, or how great they look. In Is Social Media Making You Lose Your Self-Esteem? she elaborates on how oversharing by some people can make you worry that you're too fat, too old, too poor or too disorganized. If that bothers you, she includes a link to a comic-serious video by Trevor Noah about the harmful effects of social media.

     Jennifer of Untold and Begin asks: Am I Brave Enough to Live Creatively? It's important to dare to be the person that we are at our core, she says. Living creatively means living your version of yourself -- not someone else's -- which could be the motto of every retiree in America.

Surprise visitor
     Do you want to travel? A lot of us hit the road, or the skies, before the pandemic blew in. Meryl Baer of Beach Boomer Bulletin couldn't wait to get on the go again. In Up, Up and Away she recounts her first trip in months, to a family event in Florida, and laments her on-again off-again affair with a budget airline.

     Finally, speaking of the hazy days, Rita Robison asks: Do you have a garden? In this week's post she says Growing a Vegetable Garden Is Easier Than You Think . . . and offers a few of the benefits of tilling the soil, including a surprise visit by a cute little animal or two.

     As for me, I think I'll get to work on my Summer Teacup list, which will include a small, non-vegetable garden, two trips (one to Phoenix, one to Wisconsin), probably more time on social media than I should . . . and no doubt a few meet-ups with family and old friends when we will reminisce about the hazy days of the 1990s and before.

14 comments:

Carol said...

I appreciate all of these interesting posts

ApacheDug said...

It's always nice when you do these "showcases" Tom, I look forward to checking out these others blogs.

Kay said...

I would love to travel, but I'm still too chicken. As for vegetable gardens... my brown thumb kills everything I plant. Sigh...
If we still lived on the mainland, we might be tempted to visit our kids, but living in Hawaii requires us to take LONG plane rides with stops at terminals. So... we'll wait until next year. I think.

Rita said...

Nice job on the blog report. You're such a good thinker and writer.

DJan said...

I enjoy your forays into the world of bloggers I would miss otherwise. You never fail to introduce me to someone I shouldn't have missed! Thank you for all that, Tom. :-)

Rian said...

Would love to visit family in New Orleans, the Gulf coast, or even our daughter in the hill country... but still not ready to travel yet.
And I don't really have a bucket or a teacup list - although my daughter says that she will skydive with me on my 80th. We'll see. Right now I'd just be happy to sit down to a meal someone else cooked in a restaurant with family all around (maybe by this summer?)

Red said...

I don't think we're very good at thinking ahead. When we're 16 we can't imagine being 20. I'm 81 and I have a hard time thinking about 81. It's easier to reflect back on what we have done.

Arkansas Patti said...

Love the idea of the teacup list. Trying to fill a bucket list could be daunting especially today with all the restrictions but think I can handle a teacup. Thanks.

Tom said...

As far as travel goes, we're flying to Phoenix in June. I figure with terminal time and everything else it'll be 7 or 8 hours with a mask on. Never done that before. It'll be a challenge!

Laurie Stone said...

Tom, Have fun with your teacup list! Working on mine for the summer.

Rebecca Olkowski said...

This group of posts is so fun. So glad we're getting away from political commentary and back to enjoying life.

Sue said...

Dear Tom and Friends, boastful postings always remind me of a cute cartoon i saw during the internet's early days. One frame shows a really ugly old woman in a bikini who was going on about winning a beauty contest. The man she was corresponding to, was equally ugly. He was going on about his winning various speed-boat races.

Jennifer (UnfoldAndBegin) said...

Thanks for sharing. Love all the questions.

Don said...

Nice post! I'm going to have to go visit some new blogs. Thanks for the ideas.