When we were in Mexico we kept vigil over a mama hummingbird’s two baby chicks. Neil’s boss said, “maybe it’s about time you get a kid.” Many baby boomers & older generations question why my generation is postponing major milestones & why some people take longer to graduate, marry & start lifetime careers.
Are we just lazy ambitionless louts? No. Since life expectancies are elongating (with a possible reversal in years to come due to obesity in America) the 30s are the new 20s. People are able to work longer, have children later and generally be of good health farther into life. Therefore, it is not until their 30s that some people decided to get a real job, start having children and generally “settling down.” This trend has many people from past generations, at least my parents, very perplexed. Neil’s father advised him, very concerned, the other day that “making money is not a sin.”
My parents have been equally perturbed that I don’t “just apply to law school…already.” To see our “26-year-old going for a life expectancy of at least 90, and active until at least 75″ point of view, you must understand that we are simply stretching out our unindebted, no-responsibilities, adventure part of life instead of our mortgage paying, kid rearing, career juggling part of life.
If you are going to potentially have 5-10 extra years of life, why not spend those traveling the world… when you are young? Why not designate a proportionally lager slice of life’s pie to character development, variety & freedom?
Instead of seeing this approach as lazy, or childish I see it as farsighted life planning indicative of careful analysis. If I’ve statistically got more time, I will choose carefully which period of life to drag out. I’d rather take travel, internships & adventure than motor-home tours & Medicaid.
