Don't mind us, we just run the world

 

I want to clarify some things. 

In my last blog, I may have given the false impression that my wife and I were once on the brink of financial destitution. Even though one of my coworkers once said to me, “I don’t know how you live”, we were not poor. We were struggling but not impoverished. 

Compared to the rest of the world and a large swath of Canadians, we were doing pretty good. Yes, we were at times restricted in our spending – as in, I can’t buy that mink fur coat I’ve always wanted – but it’s not the same as not having enough food to eat. On one income, we owned a house, a car, and a cat (very costly, given the damage it caused). 

We were also lucky. We bought our house a year before prices doubled. The same year the stock market crashed in the U.S., houses were selling like hot cakes in Canada. We bought our house in January and by April there were bidding wars, driving prices to levels not seen in Regina since the Roaring 20s.

Shortly after, interest rates dropped as the Great Recession took hold. Not only were our homes worth two to three times what we purchased them for, mortgage payments were lower than ever. 

I should have been thanking my lucky stars. Yet all I could think was: I should have bought a house with a double garage. It's a common regret among my generation.

I’m part of Generation X, those aged 45-60. We’re the generation you never hear about. For some reason, the news is always about the Boomers (aged 60+) or Gen Z (13-30). You still hear murmurs about Millennials (30-45) but, for the most part, you rarely hear about Gen X. While Gen Z sits glued to their phones and Boomers rest comfortably in their golden estates, we quietly go about our business of running the world. 

Not like we got to this point easily. When we entered the workforce, Boomers were all still there. Not a single manager was under 50 where I worked, and they did not like young people (correction: they didn’t like to hire young people). 

My first “office” was in the lunch room. I kid you not – I shared a room with the microwave and coffee maker. Then I worked for years in cubicles until where I am today... In an office next the mechanical room (it’s okay, I like white noise). 

Nowadays, kids get jobs as soon as they’re out of graduate school. They think they know so much with their little PhDs! Gen Z, you have no idea how good you have it! Sure, you might have to deal with AI and climate change, but in the grand scheme of things, is it worse than having an office in the lunch room?? 

My point is that every generation has their challenges. Baby Boomers grew up without electricity (I'm talking rural Saskatchewan). Gen Xers grew up without the Internet. Millennials grew up without smart phones and Gen Z, well, you got it all, including the anxiety that goes with it.  

It’s a trade off, kids! Live with it! 

And I know, as someone who owns a house, a car and a cat – not to mention motorized custom blinds (did I tell you about them?) – I’m acting like a Boomer saying it.

Blinded by perks of nearing middle age, median income

  

You know you’ve made it when you can afford custom blinds. 

It took me 25 years of climbing the government union ladder (it’s not that high) but I’m finally there. I’m at a point where someone can come to my home to measure my windows, offer me a multitude of colours and patterns, and tell me, “You’re worth it.” 

Maybe she didn’t say the last part. But to visit us three times, I think she saw something special in us. So special that she sold us the best blinds money can buy.  

Ten years ago, I would have scoffed at the cost. Back in the day, I would rig non-custom blinds on our bedroom windows to make them work. Or we just didn't have any. For most of our married life, we’d be careful about how much clothing we had or didn’t have on when entering the kitchen at night. 

We had decades-old Venetian blinds on our four front windows that no longer had handles to open and close. You had to reach for the little knob to manually turn each one. Our cat would bend them to look out the window and we would bend them back. 

We considered replacing them, but with what? I wasn’t about to rig some non-customs on our front windows. Plus we were “low income” back then. There were days, after looking at our bank account, when we would wonder what we were going to eat for the rest of the month. 

Okay, it was never quite that bad. We were never impoverished. But I thought about money almost every day (now, only every few days). 

I’m not saying we’re wealthy by any means. We just make more than we once did. We’re nearing the median household income in Canada according to the CRA. It’s a lot easier, though, when you're at the lower end of "median" than the higher end of the poverty line.  

It means we can buy custom blinds. I won’t tell you how much they cost because it's too personal. Let’s just say they’re motorized and are scheduled to rise and descend with the sun. They also cost more than my first car which, as you might guess, wasn't much.

Strangely, they give me about as much satisfaction. As a 16-year-old, I would have laughed at what I've become. But as you near middle age (50, right?), you begin to appreciate new, unremarkable things. 

You appreciate your lawn and your garden. You get into birdwatching. You pick berries every chance you get until your freezers can hold no more. 

You find pleasure in watching your blinds automatically open and close on schedule, or seeing visitors get spooked by their sudden movement. I’m truly mesmerized by the wonders of home improvement.

Now if only I could get as excited about painting.