Smells Like Midlife Spirit

THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC IS YOUR MOMENT, GEN-X

Panic at the Costco is real, y’all. COVID-19 has created a collective crisis. But while people hoard the Charmin, I’m here to affirm that, as a fellow Gen-Xer, you were made for this moment. You’re uniquely prepared to embrace the challenges ahead.

As caretakers of germy kids and at-risk parents alike, you already know how to hold down the fort. But to ensure all is contained without exposing people to dangerous situations, it’s time to lean into your social distancing and creative problem solving skills cultivated in yesteryear.

Remember your childhood days of hopping off the bus, walking home, entering an empty house, and entertaining yourself for hours before your parent(s) arrived home? You poured yourself a bowl of Kix to hoover as you watched Fun House or an ABC Afterschool Special. Maybe you popped outside to shoot hoops before finishing your multiplication tables in time for Dad to arrive home to make dinner.

You didn’t need perennial access to a smartphone and filters. You entertained yourself with three tv channels, a VCR, and a round of Oregon Trail (if you were lucky enough to have a home computer). Electronics aside, you’re a pro at analog fun, so re-read some Laura Ingalls Wilder, play solitaire, build shizzz with Legos…shake your dandruff into snow art…? Maybe cut up some tees and crimp your hair just for fun. Look, after we all survive the next few weeks, it’s “anything goes” anyway.

If you’re one of the lucky ones who can work from home, just know that in these unprecedented times, you’ve got the leadership skills to run a remote company during a turbulent and uncertain economy. You’ve already lived through the market crash of 2008 and the events of 9/11 that shook the entire country and spread fear for years. What’s a few weeks?

While we Gen-Xers can arguably lay claim to being the forgotten generation, it’s our time to shine because we're better than everyone else at ironic detachment, utter boredom, and disaffected isolation. May our cynicism of our nation’s ability to properly address COVID-19 be the catalyst that flattens the damn curve.