Kyle McLaughlin

Too many young people are resenting Boomers, claiming that Boomers had it " easy " financially in their youth. Here are a few fun facts about growing up Boomer. 1. Almost everyone grew up with one bathroom. Mom, Dad and all 3-6 siblings. 2. If you did get to take a vacation, you drove. With no air conditioning. No cup holders. No iPads. Just black vinyl seats and bologna sandwiches. 3. There were no club sports. No Parks and Rec activities. Summer camp was for rich kids. Get yourself a bike, a stick and a few friends. If you were bored, you laid in the grass and looked at clouds. 4. You ate what was served. Even if it was chicken livers. No DoorDash, no backup Totino's rolls. 5. No AP classes, no PSEO, no "fun" elective. They assigned you to a class. You went. You did what they asked. Or else. 6. Unless you had rich parents, you had a nice VFW wedding. Maybe rent a room at a modest hotel. 7. Most Boomers got their first pedi and mani in their 50s (when their feet got farther away). We didn't even know people got massages in real life, only in Hollywood. 8. You packed your own lunch for decades. 9. No one knew what red light therapy was, a facial, a spa day, or a cold plunge. Your gym was the YMCA. Usually in a rather old building. 10. We grew up with 18 percent inflation, 14 percent mortgage rates, 3 million continuing unemployment claims, and 200 other applicants competing for the same job. Now, this is not to say Millenials and Gen Z have it easy or don't face problems. It's just to say, nobody has it easy or doesn't face problems. My only hope, as my mom would say, is I live long enough to see my kids' kids complain about how easy they had it!