The BOOMERS, according to market research*, do not plan to lie down and die, they do not plan to grow old, they want emphatic engagement with life, are willing to reinvent themselves to matter, want to think about new possibilities, and want to have a pivotal role in the way things unfold in the future. 
If we want to care successfully for the BOOMERs we had better start to think outside the box… because they will be!
Response to the recent posts about “Green Burial”, “Home Funerals”, “Death Doulas” and “Death Midwives” illustrate a strong desire to have choice in living and in dying. I am reminded of Frank Sinatra’s song “I did it my way”!
I am excited to live at this time. If necessity is the mother of invention… then as we face the challenges of the increase in dying, with chronic illness, over a longer period of time, with many ups and downs, fewer caregivers, crisis in health care… I anticipate discoveries, new ways of doing things, and the need to break out of the box!
What do you see the BOOMERS doing in response to these increase needs?
What do you see yourself doing to respond to the needs of the BOOMERS?
Kath
Reference: * How Baby Boomers are Changing the Way We Live Today… and They’re Just Getting Started by Walker Smith, Ann Clurman, Yankelovich Inc..
4 Responses
Great links – wonderful site
But the first link to Eriks page was wrong — I got https://www.elac.bc.ca/https://
which did not bring me the right place.
Thanks Barb for letting me know about the link that does not work. I think it is working now.
I am glad that you enjoy the site.
Barb, You are an artist… I am curious. Do you ever consider using your talent as a fabric artist to address the growing interest in using burial shrouds for green burial?
Kath
One way the Boomers will manage to take more control over the manner in which they die, or live with their dying, is to be proactive about their wishes through means of Advance Directives and Representation Agreements. Through thoughtful use of these personal planning tools, Boomers (and others) have not only influence, but decision-making capacity about health care treatments that they wish to have and not have in their final days.
There is a wealth of information on the web these days about advance care planning tools- provincially, nationally, and internationally. Speak Up in Canada and Consider the Conversation in the US are two such websites that really help us look at talking openly about our own future wishes as Boomers and to open the dialogue more comfortably with our aging parents.
Deanna
Hi Deanna,
Yes, the Speak Up Campaign is a great Canadian resource…. with a new video coming out in the next month. As I read your posting I realize that I have mentioned the “Speak Up” campaign often in Twitter, but may not have linked to them recently in the blog.
Thank you for your link to the US resource.
A few years ago the directive was more about writing preferences, and now the counsel apprears to be more about having discussions. I am curious about all the factors that have led to this shift.
All the best to you, from one Boomer to another Boomer!
Kath