Category Archives: Xennials

Welcome February!

2025 started off pretty well, but I’m just getting started. There is so much more I wanted to accomplish, but days rush by, especially when fighting off the January “ick.” My writing really took a nosedive and a backseat. Fortunately, it is NOT for a lack of ideas. In fact, it is quite the opposite. I have too many. I need to prioritize and mix it up. Here are a few things to look forward to in 2025.

Gen X

I’ve been floating around this idea for months. It gets right to the heart of my best and deepest childhood memories. Between belonging to a fun Xennial Facebook group (NOT SFW) and discovering hysterical Gen X content creators discussing everything from the 70s-90s, I can relate. Aside from the childhood nostalgia, they are discussing the perils of becoming the default mediators between Baby Boomers and Millennials, perimenopause (or just menopause), and the weirdness of some being the parents of grown children while others have toddlers or even infants. There is something for everyone.

My favorites so far:

The “virtual” dodgeball game between some of the more well-known Gen X content creators.
The elaborate storylines, complete with 80s costumes, of some of the creators. There are two in particular who created an entire world of characters just using their imaginations, along with costuming and makeup techniques. Both are incredibly talented!

Frankly, my childhood would not have been the same without Gen X. They were always the “cool” older kids – namely my cousins (all girls) and the teens who worked at the canoe livery every summer – all of whom introduced me to the best music, slang, and fashions of the ‘80s. I distinctly remember wanting to replicate some of my cousins’ outfits and being so eager to grow up.

As much as I can relate to Gen X, I am definitely not strictly Gen X. While technically Gen X ends in 1980, I was born December 18th, 1980, just two weeks away shy of 1981 and being classified a Millennial. If anyone is on the cusp of those two generations, it is me. As a result, I am a Xennial (1977-1983), with characteristics of both generations.

Grandma Reid @ 100

January 22nd, 2025 would have been Grandma Reid’s 100th birthday. She always told my sister and me that she’d live to be 100 to “haunt you girls.” Then, she’d laugh as only she could. Gratefully, she lived a long, full life, passing away the day before her 92nd birthday in 2017. Still, I am left with so many memories and lessons, especially now that I am well into my 40s. It all deserves to be mentioned.

1925

1925 played a pivotal role in my family history. Two of my grandparents were born in 1925, Grandma Reid and Grandpa Buttrick, and my second great-grandfather, A.G. Forward, started Forward Corporation, which would become the reason why my maternal grandparents eventually moved to Standish. My parents would have likely never met otherwise.

Grandpa Buttrick @ 100

Born on April 1st, 1925, he definitely needs to be commemorated as well. He taught me a lot, and if I hadn’t moved back to Michigan in 2005, I would not have known him nearly as well as an adult. He, along with my dad, are the original inspirations for my decision to study business. It has served me well! Sometimes I think I learned just as much from them, and the companies they headed for so many years, as I did from my formal education.

Music

Not only are there dozens of songs I need to add to my mixtape, I have much to say about Oasis’s recent attempt to join the 90s nostalgia craze in concerts, not to mention the fact that Ringo, now well into his 80s, recently released a #1 album, country no less. Also, I didn’t fully realize this until fairly recently, but I belong to a generation that closely associated music videos with the music we love. That just doesn’t happen much anymore. There is a reason why there are jokes stating that MTV only provided approximately 15 years of music. We still want our MTV!

Book Reviews

Book reviews consistently get the most traffic, and I adore writing them. I am way behind. In fact, The Women by Kristin Hannah still haunts me, and it will continue to haunt me until I write a review. I loved that book, and I consider it one of the best pieces of historical fiction I’ve ever read. Then there is The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon, another great piece of historical fiction. Of course, there are others I need to review as well.

The Supply Chain Lens

In light of all that has transpired over the last several years, I feel compelled to share what keeps me awake at night. It all involves supply chains and our manufacturing capability. It is far more interesting that it sounds, I promise. Also, I plan to keep it as non-political as possible, even though I feel we have all been fooled. Even though I did not necessarily pursue a career in supply chain management, my business education forever colored how I see the world.

As you can see, lots of great things to come! Welcome February!

The Wonder Years

For the Love of Tech

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A journal full of blogging topics and ideas and here I am at a loss as to what to write. Nothing feels right – and it hasn’t for months. That in and of itself is the reason for the silence. It needs to end.

A few months ago, I joined an active Facebook group focused on Xennials, those of us born between 1977 and 1983. I am smackdab in the middle, and I definitely belong to that micro generation. I mention it because there is one recurring theme in this particular group that resonates deeply with me at this point in my life: When did we become the adults? I imagine that particular thought crosses everyone’s mind once they hit 40. Frankly, it sucks.

On a brighter note, I’ve really enjoyed the Xennial Facebook group. After working with teeneagers day in, day out, it is nice to chat online with a crazy group of people who actually get your cultural references. It is reassurance that it isn’t just you, the world is incredibly different from the one in which you grew up. That brings me to tech.

As I’ve been working from home as a long-term online substitute teacher over the last few months, I rediscovered my love of tech. At one time, I thought that I would have a corporate career in the semiconductor industry. I interned at IBM and completed a co-op position with Applied Materials as an undergrad. Applied Materials, a leading manufacturer of capital equipment for the semiconductor industry, still fascinates me. It wasn’t meant to be; however, tech still runs deep in my soul.

Of course, as Xennials, one thing that completely separates us from Gen X and Millennials – we are both and neither – is technology. Gen X learned most modern technology as adults, while Millennials are digital natives. Xennials grew up right along with tech and adapted as we grew. We had an analog childhood (praise God!) and a digital adulthood. That is what makes us unique, and frankly, it is at least in part why I feel our experiences need to be preserved.

No one else experienced the growth of tech quite like Xennials. Our parents, mainly Boomers, turned to us as their personal tech support. We could program VCRs, set up gaming system and computers, and recommend a good cell phone without batting an eye. Growing up, my sister and I were the first to navigate the internet in our household, not our parents. I could feel just as at home on an old Apple II as with a 2023 Acer with the latest 2 TB solid state AMD harddrive. By some accident of history, I witnessed unprecedented changes in technology that have fundamentally changed the way we live, work, and play. Eerily, I believe it is just getting started. AI is next.

Joan Osbourne – One of Us (1995)

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Joan Osbourne – One of Us (1995) (Video) (Lyrics)

There are one hit wonders, and then there are one hit wonders that reside on Grammy nominated albums. While I’ve never been a fan of award shows, even the Grammys, I did pay some attention to the Grammy albums that came out each February as a teen – just in case there was something I’d missed the year before.

I don’t remember when I first heard One of Us, but I immediately fell in love with the song. It was the perfect song to belt by yourself in your car when you think no one is watching. Half the fun of getting your driver’s license as a teen is the anticipation. I couldn’t wait to be the one behind the wheel, belting whatever I pleased.

Growing up, the only thing better than waiting to get my license was waiting for my older cousin Abby to get hers. We are only ten months apart in age and grew up together. We shared a first Christmas at Grandma Buttrick’s house in 1980 – and every one thereafter until Grandma passed away in 2014. Now, at Christmas, we bring the party to Abby, even in the middle of blizzards. We did elementary school, junior high and high school, and even college together. We, along with her older sister Emily, studied supply chain management at Michigan State. Freshman year, she was my ride home. Safe to say, my childhood would have been much different without Abby J. She was very much the older sister I never had.

In February 1996, the Grammys were over, we were celebrating all of the February birthdays at Aunt Robin’s house, and Abby was just about to turn 16. Her first car was similar to mine. I ended up with my beloved ‘89 red Grand Prix and hers was a white ‘88. Both of those cars ended up saving our lives.

I don’t remember specifically what Abby received for her birthday, aside from the car, but we ended up listening to One of Us on the CD player she had had installed in her car. There is nothing to compare to giggling in the back seat of a car with your older cousin and younger sister singing along to a great song at top volume. This image of the three of us singing One of Us with as much emotion as we could muster continues to haunt me. In a few months, everything would change.

The day started out normal enough. A typical beautiful early June day not long after school ended for the year, it was to be my first day of driver’s ed. I had just enough time to down a bowl of Honey Bunches of Oats before Mom was to return from the gym and drop me off at the high school.

I met Mom in the kitchen after I heard the door to the garage open. I knew immediately something awful had happened. Mom couldn’t stop crying, and generally, Mom wasn’t a crier. On the way home from the gym, she had heard that Abby had been involved in a tragic car accident. I don’t know for sure, but I have the idea that she heard it on the radio on her way home. However it was reported on the radio, it made it sound as though Abby was at fault. That certainly wasn’t the case. In reality, Abby was hit head on by a drunk driver. Another car had been immediately in front of Abby and swerved out of the way of the drunk driver, leaving Abby with no time to react. Tragically, the other driver died.

Abby was OK but certainly not unscathed. Once she was home from the hospital, I remember visiting her with my mom, sister, and brother. My younger brother Garrett, 5 at the time, made her laugh so hard that he had to stop. It made her stitches hurt. He still has that effect on people.

My intention here isn’t to tell Abby’s story as I could never do it justice and it isn’t mine to tell. Instead, it is to finally admit just how deeply Abby’s accident affected me. Keep in mind that her accident happened on my first day of driver’s ed. Shortly after learning the true story of the accident and that Abby would be OK, I was sitting in a classroom listening to the driver’s ed instructor talk about her accident. I wouldn’t feel comfortable behind the wheel for years. It would take two road trips well into college – one to Minnesota and one to Texas – to make that happen.

In the end, Abby and I joined SADD (Students Against Drunk Driving) the following school year. She went on to suffer braces all over again and became class president her senior year. Eventually, we both ended up at Michigan State. It is thanks to Abby, who still didn’t feel completely comfortable driving the expressway, I learned the back roads home from State.

Everyone always seemed to chalk up my issues behind the wheel – fear, basically – to Turner Syndrome (TS). Most women with TS do not get their license on time due to depth perception/spatial issues. Fortunately, I’ve learned how to deal with those. No, it was my fear and anxiety after Abby’s accident. One of Us will always take me back to a much simpler time.

The Lost Generation

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No, I am not talking about the generation that came of age during World War I, although we share many characteristics with that generation. I am talking about my own generation, those of use who came of age in the aftermath of September 11^th, 2001. Specifically, I am talking about the Xennial microgeneration born roughly between 1977 and 1983 (1980 here). In my opinion, we are indeed a lost generation.

There are efforts to do away with this microgeneration altogether. It is needed. I don’t fully identify with Gen Xers or Millennials. I have characteristics of both and want to be associated with neither. Many people in my age bracket agree.

Zennial

So much of it has to do with technology and economics. Most Gen Xers didn’t experience much if anything that the internet and cell phones had to offer until adulthood. They largely had an analog childhood. Millennials don’t remember life without either. Xennials, on the other hand, grew up right along with the changes. Millennials, by and large, had a digital experience growing up.

Economically, Gen Xers didn’t have it easy coming on the heels of Baby Boomers. Eventually most were able to take their place at the table, even if they rebelled at first. Millennials were still young enough during the tech boom and bust cycle, as well as the recession that followed September 11^th, that they were able to use those experiences, often felt by parents, to make different economic and career choices. We Xennials were caught in the crossfire just as we were preparing for and beginning our careers. Just as we were trying to recover and establish ourselves, the Great Recession of 2008 hit. Many of us have never fully recovered. My story is a great example of this. Unfortunately, I have always known that I am far from alone.

Nothing prepared Xennials for any of it. We grew up in a time of great economic expansion during the 1980s and 1990s. Of course we did! Baby Boomers were just coming into their careers and purchasing power. They were raising young families: the kids that would eventually make up Gen X, Xennials, and even some older Millennials. In the end, it would not last – and our parents, mainly Baby Boomers, often didn’t have the experience to help us.

Baby Boomers are an odd group. I say that with love and affection because my parents, aunts, uncles, and countless friends are all Boomers. That doesn’t mean that they aren’t a quirky bunch, especially when it comes to money. For example, even though most Boomers found some measure of economic and career success, they are thrifty almost to a fault. They think nothing of spending thousands of dollars on vacations, renovations, and more, but quibble over the price of off-brand ketchup.

When it comes down to it, they can’t help it. They were by and large raised by the Greatest Generation, which experienced most if not all the Great Depression and then the sacrifices of World War II. It may seem ridiculous to us Xennials, but those penny-pinching habits of our grandparents became a part of our parents’ DNA, no matter the economic circumstances they experienced themselves.

I often think about how my own parents started their adult lives, and I can’t help but think of how different the times were. I wonder if my generation could replicate it. That’s largely the problem. We haven’t been afforded the opportunity to truly take our place at the economic and career tables. Our careers and economic lives remain on hold, although that is slowly changing.

Instead, retirement for our parents keeps getting pushed back. We faced absurd college tuition costs while being told that a traditional four-year degree (at least) is the only way forward when it isn’t the answer for everyone. The housing and stock markets crashed just as many of us were about to get our careers going and buy our first homes. Instead, we put off marriage and starting families of our own. In some cases, our lives are still on hold.

Heinlein Quote.jpg

Younger Millennials and the generation after all had the opportunity to adjust to new circumstances and realities. We Xennials did not. We seemed to be perpetually at the wrong place at the absolute worst time. That is why we continue to struggle. The rules appeared to change just as we adjusted to the last set. I hope we aren’t completely overshadowed by our parents and Millennials, much in the same way the Silent Generation was largely eclipsed by the Greatest Generation and the Baby Boomers.

While I still consider us a “lost” generation, I don’t think we need to wander forever. But oh, how I wish we still had the guidance and wisdom of the Greatest Generation! There were so many lessons yet to be learned.

Lost

Ramblings of a Misguided Blonde

By Lindsey Russell