If you have something to say...
Say it on the Huffington Post
If you have something to say...
Say it on the Huffington Post
Even though you may want to live forever, the question becomes: Can you afford it? The cold hard reality is that the cost of longevity is quickly outpacing most people's ability to pay for it.
Rising job/career loss concerns, too much information and major cultural shifts since WWII have affected us all, unless of course you live in a media-free bubble, in which case you probably aren't reading this anyway.
Our grandparents had arthritis; we'll have arthritis. The difference is we'll live with it longer. The difference is we've had fewer kids. The difference is we may have higher expectations. The difference is that there are vastly many more of us.
I've found that people who "start over" are often just returning to an old professional passion. Something that, for whatever reason, had to be put on hold.
Has it happened? Have I become a crotchety old lady? Do I abhor certain kinds of music because I'm too old to get it? Do my eyebrows fly up at some of the things I see on TV?
Just as society's institutions were grossly unprepared for our baby boom, we have done far too little to prepare for the coming age wave. Ironically, while our demographic heft is not our fault, its impact will be our legacy.
I was reading the bios out loud, enjoying a warm mother-daughter moment, when my daughter's face fell.
Some fancy-dancy public-policy think- tank just released a brand new study that speculates the legion of aging Baby Boomers will permanently redefine retirement. Mainly because so few of us will be able to afford to retire.
Coupled with state budget shortfalls (which will worsen when federal cuts kick in), sequestration will set immigrant children and their families further back. If so much of our future workforce falls behind now, all of us will face the consequences in the future.
Who hasn't fantasized about retirement? No more time clocks to punch, early-morning alarm clocks to set, rush hour traffic to fight, or uncomfortable heels or cranky early morning kids to deal with. Nothing but leisurely days to travel, enjoy your family or do whatever you wish.
They're both body art, and their respective consumers are changing the way we live, work, eat, play and spend.
As marriage equality has evolved over the last year we have become wildly aware of one overlooked group: The Single. It's ofļ¬cial. The nuclear family has had a meltdown.
While not too long ago many CEOs were hipsters, time seems to have taken its toll. These days, most operate as minders of the status quo -- old-school capitalists, equal parts American Dream, ever-higher profits, low or no taxes and "kill or be eaten."
One of the most momentous events of our later years is leaving the workforce. Putting retirement on the front burner brings most of us face to face with change on a major scale.
Many male caregivers choose to be stay-at-home dads; some others have lost their jobs and become caregivers by default. But increasingly men are being thrust into (or welcoming) the role of caregiver -- for their children and/or aging parents -- while working full-time jobs.
Working on a book about aging has meant figuring out how to make this subject appealing... or at least not dismayingly off-putting. I mean, who wants to learn about tub transfer benches? Who cares about tile slip resistance? Did I really have to choose such an un-sexy topic for my first book?
