Julianne Spitzner
Aug 22, 2017 · 2 min read

You’re definitely right about our practicality however my parents were Boomers. Everything else you wrote was the same; I did a lot of raising myself, spent lots of time with grandparents and aunts, my parents flirted with divorce but didn’t actually do it until the 90's.

The Silent Generation parents of my friends tended to stay married. Those friends had to be in when the streetlights came on while I was free to roam about outside until bedtime if I wished.

SG (Silent Generation) moms didn’t work like my mom did. If a friend got sick at school their mom didn’t complain to them about taking time off of work before dropping them off at home to care for themselves. Their mom woke them up, made their breakfast and lunch. I woke my mom up, made my own breakfast and bought lunch at school.

Needless to say I envied my friends older parents sometimes. I think their parents seeming lack of concern was more just tired acceptance, usually my friends were the youngest of a few children. But they still made themselves felt more in my friends daily lives than mine did. They had a tether, I did not.

My parents were stable compared to some of my friends who also had Boomer parents. Divorce, marital time-outs so their dad could have girlfriends (one of those girlfriends an aunt of mine) and drug abuse were some of what those friends dealt with.

I never really thought about us saving the world but why shouldn’t it be us? We’re the plodders, the responsible ones. We might not be touted as the stars but how often does that happen anyway?

)

    Julianne Spitzner

    Written by