Meeting My Fellow Boomer Bloggers at BlogHer 2011

It is almost a month since I attended the BlogHer 2011 conference and I am just starting to catch up with all the wonderful women (and men) that I met and check out all the swag that I received. One of the best parts of the conference was hosting the Birds of a Feather session with fellow Boomer bloggers.

I was pleased that 30+ bloggers attended the session. We're a small tribe, but we are definitely growing. The BlogHer team wanted to call our birdies the "Elder" bloggers, but I urged them to change our name to "Boomer." "Elders are my mom's age, in their 80s and 90s," I said. "We're boom, boom, boomers."

We went around the room during the Feather session and shared each of our stories -- how and why we started blogging, what our blogs were about, and why we liked blogging. All agreed that life after 50 is one of the "best times of your life." We felt that this is a time in your life when you're more able to find your authentic voice. You have all the wisdom from your life before 50 and now it is time to share it with others and with those who are younger. Some said that life after 50 is a time for reinventing yourself. One person said she joined a rock band. Yes, boom, boom, boom -- a rock band!

So who are some of these talented, time-tested, terrific Boomer bloggers? Here are a few of my favorites and their blogs:

- Sharon's blog, Leaning Into Life, finds encouragement in the commonplace and has beautiful photos

- Caryn's blog, The Midlife Guru, features her stories and wisdom after turning 50 last year

- Linda's blog, BoomerTechTalk, contains a bevy of information on technology and social media

- Lisa's blog, Grandma's Briefs, includes bits & bytes about life's second act

- Nancy's blog, Dating Dementia, is about single women making big changes at midlife

- Elaine's blog, TripWellness, provides tips on how to remain stress-free while traveling, including yoga

- Carol's blog, Middle Aged Diva, is about living your best life at any age

- Audrey's and Anne-Marie's blog, The Succulent Wife, provides ideas on how to live a more exciting life and bloom during your boomer years

- Wolf's blog, Just Add Father, is about mindful fatherhood. Kudos to father and physician Wolf, who was one of only two boomer men among the almost all female boomer group.

- Brenda's blog on Breast Cancer Sisterhood, provides a guide to surviving and thriving after breast cancer.

Finally, there is Darryle's blog, "I never signed up for this." Darryle is a writer, TV journalist, artist, mother and breast cancer survivor. She is one of the first women to graduate from Yale. Darryle's blog post was selected as one of the Voices of the Year at the BlogHer conference. I urge you to click on the link above and watch the video of Darryle's voice. You will be motivated and moved by her performance. Bravo to Darryle, a beautiful boomer blogger.

I think after you watch Darryl's video, you will understand what I mean when I say I found my tribe at BlogHer. Boomer women (and a few boomer men) are writing great blogs about their lives after 50. We all shared our email addresses, Twitter handles, and Facebook pages with each other. We promised to stay in touch and meet again at BlogHer 2012 in New York City next summer. I hope you'll join us. If you're a boomer blogger and want to be added to our list, please send along the name of your blog to me at my Facebook page @Judi Boomer GIrl or leave a comment on this blog post and we'll sign you up.

Judi

P.S. Please take time, if you have any free time, and vote for my blog to win CBS Philly's Best Blog Award. You can vote everyday from now until September 9th. Thank you!