Gen Xers in Baby Boomers’ Clothing

After a couple of months, ngayon ko lang na-process yung reaction ng tito at tita ko nung sinabi kong nas-stress ako sa paglipat namin sa Calgary. It stuck with me kasi na-wirdohan ako sa reaction nila. Para kasi silang nagulat (with a mix of derision) nung sinabi ko na nakaka-stress yung paglipat—na parang unheard of sa kanila yung feelings of stress and anxiety when moving from one place to another.

At na-realize ko ngayon na, baka posibleng wala sa vocabulary nila yung “Nakaka-stress.” I think they’re more like doers and may have less capacity for deeply acknowledging the toll of hard situations. Or they might be wired to push those difficult feelings away and manifest the suppressed emotions in different (possibly unhealthy) ways. Haha the difference in generational culture is so apparent. I felt invalidated for a second nung tinawanan nila ko pero sinakyan ko na lang at that moment.

But in all fairness, it helped me not to stress too much. Without realizing it, I took the right amount of criticism from their bluntness and used it as a balm to soothe some of my anxiety. It made me think na at the end of the day, kahit magkaron man ng disaster, it’s still going to be okay in the end.

This is one example of how the differences between generations can be helpful. We need this contrast from time to time. We help each other stay in check. This thought is a nice reminder kapag nagkakaron ng minor clash and moments of frustration on both sides.

Edit: I stumbled upon this insight a month or so later that perfectly complements this blog post.

For the more ruminative among us, there may be aspects of the boomer approach worth cherry-picking. Sometimes, and I shudder to say this, what if it really is “not that deep”.

— Haley Nahman