page contents Google

A Baby Boomer Sandwich Christmas

And One, And Two, And Three

The Christmas Concert Stage

Boomerpdx readers know the Sandwich Generation.

It’s a name made up to explain a segment of people raising kids and caring for parents at the same time.

The old name was family, but it got updated. Baby Boomers love updates.

Family traditions during the holidays don’t get updated. For some it’s a trip to Pioneer Square and the city tree. Others make The Nutcracker at Keller Auditorium part of their celebration.

If music is a key to the holidays, and it is, you can’t beat watching The Sound of Music. Young voices singing old songs hit the mark every time.

Last night the Tigard High School Choir held their Christmas Concert. It sounded like an extended version of a Von Trapp family reunion.

My boomer pals’ boy sang in the show. They invited me, my wife, and mother in law and saved seats for us all. The chilly evening found parking lots full and an auditorium filled to overflow.

Grandy had the perfect excuse to stay home. She’d just had her eyes dilated and checked and felt a little wobbly.

But that didn’t stop her. Traditions grow stronger when you keep them up, something she learned as a child in England.

Boomers took notice.

Other traditions played a part in the evening.

The singer in my boomer pals’ family comes from a sports tradition. The dad coached, the mom did everything team moms do and more. Their son played football and wrestled like his brothers.

Then he got winged. Shoulder surgery meant no senior season.

Boomers remember senior year in high school. You ruled. You got better at everything because all the older kids left. You were the oldest kid and everyone else was a little brother to pound on.

Identifying with sports as a senior adds more to a special year. Your chances of success grow higher than ever.

Then you get sidelined and hope fades. Dreams die. Do you kick back and aim for graduation with the least possible effort, or do you stomp the clutch and power shift into high gear.

Isn’t that what the holidays are all about, raising spirits high?

Grandy hooked my arm in the auditorium while I service-dogged her down a crowded aisle.

The singer took his spot an stage, first to dance, then to the top risers for carols. The group drove the Von Trapp analogy home with a German song in perfect harmony.

Grandy could have stayed home, but didn’t. The Voice could have dropped out, but didn’t.

Boomers listened in awe to the beautiful sound rolling over them, spirits lifted by plans for the next show at the Grotto on December 17th.

Lift your holiday spirits with one of the shows, too.

 

 

 

 

 

About David Gillaspie

I am a writer. This is my blog story day by day.