Sustainable Gardening Blog

That’s the euphemism, right — woman of a certain age?  Okay, fine.  People in their late 50s, like the Takoma Gardener, will take any euphemism they can get.   

But the Boomer tag I really like.  It conjures up hippies and idealists and people who thought they could change the world.  Shit, people who really did change the world, though in less sweeping ways than we imagined in our most grandiose moments.  I know my friend Ronni at Time Goes By hates the term "Boomer," but isn’t that because she missed it?  I’d hate it, too if, like my older sister, I’d been born a few years too early.

Ronni believes that Boomers are getting too much attention, and that’s absolutely true.  Just this week, PBS is running a show about the Boomers that’s TOTALLY INANE in its cheery generalizations.  So Ronni, I sympathize, but I’ll always cherish my memories of the late ’60s and early ’70s, memories of being part of a group of kids who were passionate, who felt a bond with one another in our rejection of the repressive mentality of the ’50s.  Funny thing, though.  While for us the term conjures up coolness of decades gone by, in the population at large it’s become synonymous with OLD.  Good lord.

And where are my compatriots today?  Well, our lives aren’t as radical as we thought they’d be, but dammit, they’re not like our parents lives, so we’ve accomplished something.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME
Yes, today’s my birthday and it’s a mighty fine one.  Early spring, 70°, and sunny.  Cherry blossoms blooming, not to mention sweeps of cheerful daffodils and other early bulbs.  And it’s a day of total leisure for me, except for a thoroughly enjoyable initial visit with a new client whose garden will be transformed, I tell you, and all for the better!  Garden Coaching is such fun - if only it paid the utilities.

So here’s some Birthday News from this Boomer Gardener.   I’ve worked my butt off for enough years that I can pretty much coast nowadays and just enjoy having a beautiful garden.  The tulips I planted last fall will do their thing.  The mulch I’ve ordered will arrive, laborers will be hired to put it where it belongs.  A little grass seed will be broadcast about and watered.  And that’s it.  It’s payback time.

BOOMER BLOGGING
I’m luckier than many people my age, and the only downside I’m experiencing has nothing to do with gardening and everything to do with sitting at this damn computer and typing.  You see, the hands are shot.  Once they’ve diagnosed carpal tunnel syndrome (a return engagement after surgery a few years ago) AND arthritis, it’s time to start thinking about accommodation.   So this very post is being brought to you via voice recognition software - Dragon Naturally Speaking.  I sure can’t say I love it because it’s frustrating as hell and there is no fricking customer support AT ALL, but it works for quadraplegics and it works for me, so God love it.  Yeah, I’m adopting an attitude of gratitude because really, what’s the alternative?  After all, I have friends who, like Elizabeth Edwards, are fighting for their lives and I just feel lucky to be healthy, bum hands or not.