Many baby boomers today find themselves facing an interesting dilemma as they try to balance different priorities in their personal lives. One example that seems to come up often in conversations with that segment of the population is that they desperately want to enjoy doing some of the things on their bucket list while they still can.
Yet, at the same time, they don’t want to neglect any family responsibilities. Two people dealing with this challenge is a couple from Connecticut. After working hard all of their lives, they now want to enjoy the fruits of their hard work. Both the husband and wife were professionals possessing a strong work ethic who now want to trade 18-hour work days for enjoying life and seeing the world.
The challenge they thought they were facing was to find a way to cut back on their careers while still making a contribution and leaving plenty of vacation time available for tackling their bucket list. This couple's list is long and it's built around visiting the national parks, and maybe venturing beyond the U.S. to explore mountain scenery and hiking trails in other parts of the world. The plan sounds like a good one, having spent most of their lives working hard, they can now now turn their attention to leisure activities with a purpose.
But as the saying goes, "everything does not always work out as planned." This boomer couple, like most of their contemporaries, have to look out for the unforeseen "trade-offs" they will have to make. What happens, for example, with the wife's elderly mother while this couple is travelling and can't be there to help take care of mom?
Furthermore, can those born bewtween 1945 and 1965 travel guilt-free knowing that a loved one is left behind? These are questions baby boomers ask daily. There is with no one-size-fits-all answer. It seems that baby boomers, who have made so many sacrifices throughout their lives and have always been respectful of their parents, should now be able to enjoy their travels and life free of guilt.
So we come back to the question posed at the beginning of this article — What is the appropriate balance? Furthermore, could other family members rally around this couple as a support system, assisting this couple to achieve the ultimate goal. That is for the boomer couple to be able to take some time to enjoy life, while knowing that their elderly parent(s) are well taken care — while still remaining in their own home.
This couple is fortunate, for they have close siblings who are happy to contribute. They have met obstacles together before, and seem to have a great plan to share in the caregiving of their elderly mother.
This is the type of family teamwork those between the ages of 52 and 72 need to strike that balance.
So baby boomers, if you want to achieve your life goals, inclusive of your bucket list, but remain at a loss for trying to find the balance to make everything work, know that you are not alone — you are taking part in a shared experience.
Rick Bava founded and was CEO of the Bava Group, which became the premier communications consulting firm serving the Fortune 500 community. Bava became known for his popular blog columns “Rick Bava on the Baby Boomer Generation.” He is the author of "In Search of the Baby Boomer Generation." For more of his reports, Go Here Now.
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