Multigenerational Magic

For most of the past year, I’ve been working on a special project where I am NOT the person in charge. As a business owner, that doesn’t happen very often. On this project, the boss is three decades younger than me.

I’ve seen too many older people struggle to follow someone with less experience. In my 20s, I managed teams filled with people decades older than me. My leadership was often questioned because it arrived in a younger voice.

Back then, I wondered if I would be as ornery when the tables turned. Now I know the answer is no. One of my new favorite things is sitting across the table from my younger boss. Our fresh conversations spark new ventures. We thrive and come alive in our multigenerational interactions.

I grew up in a home filled with multiple ages and multiple perspectives on life. My parents had nine children of all different ages and wildly different personalities. When the oldest was preparing for college, the youngest was starting their terrible twos. Then, my Grandma came to live with us. I was a middle child in the middle of it all.

At the time, I didn’t appreciate the power of multigenerational magic. But, I do now. In the past week alone, I connected with people experiencing most every age of life: a newborn, a toddler, a child, a teen, a 20 something, 30s, 40s, 50s, 60s, 70s, 80s, and 90s. I’ve yet to meet someone over 100 years of age, but I believe I will. I’m lucky that way.

I seek more eye contact and more shared adventures between the generations. When I lived in a gated community in Florida, everyone was about my age or older. My perspective was confined. My culture was flat. My life was stagnant.

My only other experience with one-generational living was my college dorm. Everyone was about my age. Our schedules were fixed. Our meal times were set. We cheered for the same team. Laughed at the same jokes. Cried over the same problems. Moved like a pack.

At the time, I didn’t know I was living in a protective bubble. I didn’t realize my perspective was contained. Now, I purposefully choose to live in a multigenerational community.

I seek community even when it isn’t easy. I make the extra effort to share in-person experiences. I share laughter across a table. I share slow meals with time to listen. I share heartfelt hugs that last until the other person lets go. Technology helps us stay in touch, but it doesn’t replace touch.

We were never meant to live in a one-generational bubble. We need the optimism of youth and the steadiness of experience. We need to hold newborns, embrace every age of life, and hold the hand of elders nearing the end.

Every person of every age is my teacher. When I spend time with someone who has their whole life ahead of them, I feel I do too. When I listen to someone who has survived it all, I feel I can too.

My wish for our world is more multigenerational communities. I want more than holidays to bring multiple ages together. I want more eye contact and more shared adventures between the generations.

Sameness narrows our perspective and limits our lives. To truly thrive, we all need multigenerational magic.