The Survive and Thrive Boomer Guide

Baby boomers figuring out how to cope during these difficult times

It’s so upsetting that coronavirus cases are spiking in about 20 states in the USA. I’ve been staying home since early March, and am prepared to stay home more because I’m in the high-risk group.

But many people, including President Trump, aren’t wearing face masks. Trump even organized a huge rally Saturday in Tulsa, Oklahoma. What is he thinking? Eight of his staff members who worked on the event tested positive for coronavirus. Two of them attended the event. We’ll just have to wait and see how many Trump supporters will get covid-19 and how many will be superspreaders.

I am going to go out this weekend to my nieces memorial service, which is in Bellingham, Washington, a couple of hours from my home. Before I go, I’ll need to cut my hair. I was going to hire an online stylist, but my daughter said since my hairdo is so simple, I might be able to do it myself. I checked out a couple of YouTube videos, so it looks doable. I’ll report later on how it goes.

Baby boomers ponder these times

Photo: .RGB.

America is in turmoil. Millions of Americans are pouring out into the streets to protest the death of George Floyd, a black man who was murdered in Minneapolis, Minnesota, when a police office pressed his knee on his neck until he died. All this in the middle of the covid-19 pandemic. 

I'm stressed. I don't know what's going to happen next. Police reform? I hope so. Millions more getting the coronavirus and thousands more dying of it? I hope not. 

I've decided what I'm going to do in these challenging times is make a large contribution on an organization that works to improve my community, including working on homeless issues.

Our boomer bloggers are writing about what's going on in America and what's going on in their lives:

Black Lives Matter

The Black Lives Matter protests are swelling throughout the nation. As she reached out to her friends of color, Carol Cassara of Heart·Mind·Soul has learned more about what it means to be an effective ally. In "How Much Do Black Lives Matter to You?" she relates an impactful dialogue she had with a female friend; one that made even more vivid what people of color face every day of their lives. 

Jennifer Koshak of Unfold and Begin has been struggling with a lot of emotions lately; sadness, anger, and outrage, to name just a few. She was sickened by the casual way in which a cop murdered George Floyd, and while she doesn't know exactly what to say, she does have something to say.

Something that happened to Laurie Stone of Musing, Rants & Scribbles five years ago seems as relevant today as it did back then. She was in her neighborhood grocery store when she encountered a tall, middle-aged African-American man stocking shelves. He had a cart full of product and part of it blocked her way. She looked at him, smiling, saying, “Excuse me.” He turned and gazed at her, his eyes hard, face tight and unsmiling. And that’s when she saw it.

Travel

Rebecca Olkowski with BabyBoomster.com attended the American Travel Trends Forum online with guest speakers Peter Greenberg, Samantha Brown, Andrew McCarthy, and others. The tourism industry has been heavily impacted by the pandemic with over 100 million out of work. What does it need to do to come back? Rebecca reports on some of their thoughts and findings.

Bathing suits

Quarantine, recession, protest marches. It has been a long week. But it is also summer and time to relax a bit and enjoy the season, the weather, the warmth. Meryl Baer of Six Decades and Counting obliges with an upbeat post about swim suits. Summer’s here and that means bathing suits.

Social Security

Tom Sightings at Sightings Over Sixty had occasion to check on his Social Security benefits – which we all know can often be complicated and sometimes confusing. So he turned to financial guru Jeremy Kisner to find some important Social Security FAQ's ... which will answer (almost) any question you ever had about Social Security, including if and when it will go bankrupt.

These articles make up the Best of Boomer Blogs #653. Be sure to check out the articles and leave a comment. Boomer bloggers love to hear from readers.

Copyright 2020, Rita R. Robison, Consumer and Personal Finance Journalist

How to celebrate Memorial Day during the coronavirus pandemic

Memorial Day, a day honoring the men and women who died while serving in the U.S. military, is Monday. Normally, most communities have gatherings and people often travel in what has become the unofficial beginning of summer.

Last year, nearly 43 million Americans took a Memorial Day weekend trip. It was the second-highest travel volume on record since AAA began tracking holiday travel in 2000, with the highest set in 2005.

This year, AAA isn’t making a travel forecast for Memorial Day due to COVID-19 impacts on the underlying economic data used to create the forecast. AAA anticipates this year’s holiday will likely set a record low for travel volume.

What are the options for Americans for celebrating Memorial Day in 2020, the year of the coronavirus pandemic?

Visit a cemetery. See if the cemetery you want to visit is open to family members. Have flowers delivered to your home to place on the grave. Go early so you can have a socially distanced visit.

Watch Memorial Day parades and ceremonies virtually. Check the internet to see what’s available in your area.

Baby boomers coping during weeks of staying at home due to the pandemic

Things are going well for me as I stay home under Washington state’s stay home order. I’m willing to do it for a long time more. I don’t think it’s worth it to get my hair cut or eat in a restaurant and get the coronavirus.

It’s so upsetting that protesters are risking the lives of others by coming out to state capitals, crowding together, and in some states, even carrying guns.

My yard is beautiful this time of year. I have 40 rhododendrons in many colors of pink plus red, yellow, orangey, and purple. I’m making a bouquet a day because the beautiful blossoms will soon be gone. Since my main interest in my yard is growing vegetables, I rely on all the rhododendrons, and about a dozen azaleas, planted by previous owners.

But the main thing I’m doing is working on the book about my journalism career called “Follow the Money: My Life as a Financial Journalist.” It’s a lot of work to go through the hundreds of print articles I’ve written, but it makes the time fly by. I’m almost finished with the print articles. Next, I’ll need to figure out a way to write about more than 6,000 blog articles.

Meanwhile, baby boomer bloggers are writing about:

Baby boomers share stories of staying at home during these coronavirus pandemic times

Mother’s Day was different this year. Instead of celebrating with my daughter and her family in Spain like I often do, I was at home in the Seattle area following Washington state’s Stay Home, Stay Healthy order.

I enjoyed a video call with my daughters and pizza and chocolate cake. I got the idea for the pizza and cake from my birthday request made earlier in May. It was so good, I repeated it for Mother’s Day.

While staying home gets tiring at times, it’s giving me a lot of time to work on my book “Follow the Money: My Life as a Financial Journalist.”

Meanwhile, boomer bloggers are writing about how they’re doing during the pandemic:

Happy Mother's Day 2020

I hope your Mother's Day is going well. For about the last 10 years, I've spent the month of May in Madrid with my daughter Lisa and her family. This year is very different. Although I bought a ticket in early March, it soon became apparent as the pandemic unfolded that I wouldn't be able to go this year. I'm tempted to head to Sacramento to visit my daughter Mona. However, that wouldn't be wise.

Also sad, Lisa and the kids won't be able to visit us this year in the United States in July, and, in addition, I won't be able to visit Spain for the holidays either.

For Mother's Day, Mona sent me flowers and chocolates, shown above, which were delivered Saturday. The delivery was a big surprise because the flowers were scheduled to come Monday. I opened the garage door to take a letter out to the mailbox. Right there, in my driveway was a white van with a guy was getting out of it. It was shocking because it's so long since I've had company or visited anyone.

Mother's Day facts and figures for 2020: What mom's want on Mother's Day

Mother’s Day is Sunday and with so many people staying home, it will be a different kind of celebration for most Americans. I won’t be in Madrid visiting my daughter and her family like I’ve done for about 10 years, nor will I be able to go to Sacramento and visit my daughter and her family there, although it’s tempting.

US Foods recently surveyed more than 2,000 moms across America to find out what they want from their families this Mother’s Day and how their plans to celebrate with their families are being impacted by the covid-19 pandemic.

A majority of moms want to spend time with family on Mother’s Day. Mom’s also enjoy sleeping in when given the opportunity. An ideal Mother’s Day would include time for mom, time with the family, and some together time watching TV and movies as well as a special dinner.

If you are looking for gifts, a majority of Mom’s said they would enjoy a gift card for an experience they can enjoy after the covid-19 pandemic has passed.

Here are more on the findings from the survey:

You can also find more infographics at Visualistan

Baby boomers offer coronavirus pandemic reports

Who could have guessed a few months ago that the world would suddenly be plunged into a pandemic that would require months of staying at home?

I’m doing well. I’m able to pick up an order of groceries weekly from my local food co-op. I’m grateful to be able to get most of the organic foods that I like.

I had some toilet paper and paper towels on hand, then, when I realized I could be staying home for months, I ordered a case of each from the co-op like I usually do.

For the first week, I walked around my neighborhood, but my daughter, who lives in Madrid, suggested I should stay in my yard. Probably a good idea since a man walked up behind me without me noticing when I was walking on a street near my house. I wasn’t wearing a mask.

Now, I’m walking around my house in my wonderful yard, shown above. It takes me a minute to walk around my house, so I’m going around it 20 times.

Speaking of masks, since I have respiratory problems, I had two before the pandemic began here. When I went to the dentist before everything shut down, the dental hygienist gave me six more, three of which I shared with my sister.

By the time I wanted to get more, I thought they’d all disappeared. However, a friend said he’d been able to order some from Amazon, so I tried and I was successful. I’ve shared half of my box with others.

Here are reports from other boomer bloggers:

Six Decades and Counting

In New Jersey, the quarantine goes on … and on … and on. Meryl Baer of Six Decades and Counting tries to remember what life was like BQ — before quarantine, and in this week’s post compares life BQ and life now, with some humor to lighten the mood. Read about how life changes in “Before Quarantine … and Now.”

Sightings Over Sixty

We're all coping with our stay-at-home orders as best we can. But what is life really like? In “A Day in the Life of a Coronaretiree” Tom Sightings from Sightings Over Sixty reveals an inside look at what actually goes on behind closed doors.

BabyBoomster

Rebecca Olkowski with BabyBoomster.com moved from her home during the covid-19 crisis and survived. Not something she recommends to anyone right now. It’s challenging for many reasons, but she’s making it work at least temporarily. For details, see “Moving During Covid — Not Recommended But I Survived.”

Unfold and Begin

With so many people currently laid off due to covid-19 and seeing how her article “How to Go Through the Stages of Job Loss” started to take life again, Jennifer Koshak of Unfold And Begin thought she’d update it to address today’s concerns. In this uncertain time, even if you have a job to go back to, there’s still a lot of emotion around being out of work. Koshak saw that people go through the five stages of grief when going through a job loss and shares how to get through each stage with dignity, hope, and prospects for a brighter future.

Musings, Rants & Scribbles

Laurie Stone of Musings, Rants & Scribbles took a vow recently with her family – they’d avoid grocery stores at all costs. Several people in her home are more susceptible to covid-19 than others. No problem, they all thought. They’d been using their supermarket’s home delivery system for years. However, there was one small complication.

A Healing Spirit

The benefits of meditation don’t require a full-out, complicated practice, points out Carol Cassara at A Healing Spirit in her post “Three Easy Meditations You Can Do in Stressful Times.”

These articles make up the Best of Boomer Blogs #646. Thank you for reading our offerings this week, and be sure to join in the conversations. Boomer bloggers love to hear from readers.

Copyright 2020, Rita R. Robison, Consumer and Personal Finance Journalist

Baby boomer bloggers write about Easter

Easter is the topic for this week’s Best of Boomer Blogs.

Boomer bloggers are writing about:

• An Easter survey that shows Easter spending for candy, clothing, and food is down nearly 50 percent due to the coronavirus pandemic.
• Memories of a sunrise service followed by a pancake breakfast at church.
• When two uncles had a fight at the Easter gathering.
• Easter tears and laughter.
• The promise of spring.
• A frittata recipe that’s made with three eggs, which is a nice dish for Easter.
• Last year’s trip to the emergency room on Good Friday.

Jennifer Koshak of Unfold and Begin writes about these articles on the Best of Boomer Blogs #645. Click here to get the links to the articles. And be sure to leave a comment. Boomer bloggers love to hear from readers.

Copyright 2020, Rita R. Robison, Consumer and Personal Finance Journalist

Happy Easter in the era of the coronavirus, when everything is changed

For 12 years, I’ve been writing this blog and wishing people happy Easter. This year, the year of the coronavirus pandemic, however, is so extra-ordinary, it’s shocking.

When it’s warm here, I’ve been walking around my house for exercise. My daughter recommended I do this rather than walking around my neighborhood. She’s probably right because I later learned that the virus hangs in the air for three hours. So, even if you social distance while walking in your neighborhood, it’s possible you could get exposed. I have a mask because I have respiratory problems, but I wasn’t wearing it when I walked around my neighborhood.

It takes me one minute to walk around my house, so I go around it 20 times. I hurt my back about a year ago, so I’ve been hiring help for yard work. But, as I walk around my yard, I’ve been picking dandelions to they don’t go to seed. The gophers also are back, so I shoveled the dirt and put it in the yard waste bin.

My forester who prunes my evergreen trees and rhododendrons is going to make me a plastic greenhouse so I can have an early garden. He came Saturday and set it up. I usually go to Madrid to visit my daughter and her family in May, but I won’t be going this year. He’ll plant my garden early this year. I usually buy seedlings and plant my garden in late May.