Jude’s Eclectic Resources

Baby boomers seem gifted with perpetual youth.  But they are also people of passion.  From the moment this generation arrived on this earth, they seemed to be bringing a mission and a different vision for society than had existed before.  This sense of knowledge and of vision accounts for the incredible drive baby boomers have shown throughout their adult lives which have resulted in changes to society so profound that life in America today only faintly resembles how we lived in the 50s and 60s.

Each era of life has brought its own challenges to baby boomers.  As parents, baby boomers were committed to having a different kind of relationship with their children.  They are more hands on, participatory and interactive with children in a much greater way than generations before.  In a very real way, baby boomers parents sought to be both parent and best friends to their children.  The outcome has not always been positive but you do see a sense of family unity and emulation of parents in children of boomers that is even more committed than the family model of the past because baby boomers viewed parenting as a mission and job one of their lives.

As baby boomers move out of the parenting role, at least in terms of having youngsters at home, they now have an opportunity to define in their own terms what it means to be a grandparent.  Becoming grandma and grandpa may be a bit difficult for a generation that has always fought the coming of aging and resisted even adulthood much less old age.  But if baby boomers embrace the concept of being the kindly and wise old grandparent and filling that role in the lives of their children and grandchildren, they can have an influence on another generation beyond them to pass along their insights and guidance in ways that only grandparents can do.

Children see grandma and grandpa in a different light.  Naturally they love them and love the opportunity to visit their grandparents if for no other reason than grandma always has cookies for them.  But sitting on granddads knee and hearing his stories or just enjoying his love and teasing is part of growing up that children cherish long into their adult years.  And it is a time that even baby boomers can embrace and thoroughly enjoy.

There was a great book out not long ago named “If I knew being a grandparent was this much fun, I would have done it first.”  This amusing concept reflects that the joy of being grandpa and grandma to your children’s children is fulfilling in ways that even surpass the important role baby boomers had as parents.  Children listen to their grandparents because they are wise and old and it gives them a sense of security to see that it’s possible to go through life successfully and still be full of life and fun even when old age is upon us.  That is why children intuitively know that there are things grandparents know that they want to learn while on granddads lap and they cherish the lessons they are taught from a revered elder.

It’s good when baby boomers embrace this new role.  Just as when boomers embraced parenthood, they threw themselves into the challenge with a passion that changed the definition of parenting for the better.  So too, baby boomers can bring their passion, their sense of deep commitment and their love of family to the role of grandparent and give their grandchildren the gift of a wonderful grandma and grandpa who not only always had love and fun for them but also always seemed to know the right answer.

Since this is December the first just thought I would put in a little note for everyone that works so hard on the Internet and urge you to take it easy and not stress so much over family and friends. You have worked so hard and maybe the things you thought were going to be so great this year didn’t happen, but it doesn’t mean that you are a failure, just means we have to work a little bit harder for next year.

Sometimes “Tis The Season To Be Jolly” isn’t all that it’s cracked up to be and things don’t always turn out the way they are suppose to be, but and it is a big BUT we do persevere and turn things around unless we have some crippling sickness that prevents us from doing our best and you know we always do our best during this time of giving.

Just saying hello and happy shopping for all those that you love, but don’t forget those that are less fortunate than we are, some through not fault of their own and others just from stupidity. We are all human and deserve consideration and kindness of heart. If we can just make one small gesture, how great for the rest of human kind….Just One Small Gesture can change the world.

A few tips:

Entertaining people in your home is always wrought with a bit of stress and anxiety. Simply getting everything ready before the party is enough to make most people pull out their hair. And, the self-doubt and worry about last minute details is enough to send most people over the edge of comfort. However, planning your party does not need to be this way. Here are ten time tested tips to help you plan the best party with the least possible pre-party stress.

Tip #1 – The best thing you can do for yourself is to write down a master party shopping list and a list of what needs to be accomplished around your home before the date of the party. Get out a calendar and mark off some time to shop and clean your home.

Tip #2 – Enlist the help of your spouse or children in the process of cleaning and de-cluttering your home for the party. While they may not do the “perfect” job that you would, you can always go back with a quick vacuum or dust cloth and finish up the job later.

Tip #3 – When your guests arrive they will need a place to hang their coats and place their purses. One of the easiest things you can do is to clean out your entry-hall coat closet for them to use. If you have a bunch of stuff in there, then you should either find it a new home or box it up until after your party is over.

Tip #4 – When you shop, think about if you will want to send home leftovers with your guests. If you will, then you should pick-up some inexpensive containers which you can send home food in and not have to worry about retrieving your plates or bowls at a later date.

Tip #5 – It is also nice to plan for enough leftovers from your party that you will not have to cook or prepare food on the day after your party. Let’s face it, the day after your party you will be exhausted, and by not having to cook you can relax and enjoy the day with your family.

Tip #6 – When you go to the store to purchase the non-perishables for your party, you can leave them in the grocery bags until the day before the party. Rather than unpack everything and put it away in your cupboards where people might mistakenly eat it, you can simply leave everything in the bags and keep them in an out of the way place until the day before the party. (I highly suggest looking at everything the day before and making sure you didn’t forget something at the store which is vital. This will keep you from having to make emergency store runs on the day of your party when you have other things to do.)

Tip #7 – If you are having an evening party near the Christmas holiday season, you might want to get together ahead of time with your friends and organize a cookie exchange. By doing this you can have tons of different cookies to offer your guests, even though you only had to make one kind of them.
Tip #8 – If your guests will be drinking wine, it is a great idea to use some inexpensive wine glass charms. This will allow your guests to always know which glass is theirs and keeps them from using too many other glasses. Put the charms on before your party to save time when you are serving your guest’s drinks.