Men bounce back home at a rate of 40 percent, compared to just 32 percent for women.
As our offspring have grown older and more secure in their adult lives the idea of them returning to the nest as boomerang kids has become much less of an issue for us.
But a recent article in The Tribune, “How to deal with adult children who move back home,” reminded us that for many would be, no should be, empty nesters it is still an ongoing fact of life.
The first thing that struck us from the article were these statistics… CONTINUE READING >>
As our offspring have grown older and more secure in their adult lives the idea of them returning to the nest as boomerang kids has become much less of an issue for us.
But this story, “How to deal with adult children who move back home,” by marriage and family therapist Linda Lewis Griffith of The Tribune reminded us that for many would be, no should be, empty nesters it is still an ongoing fact of life.
The first thing that struck us from the article were these statistics:
According to the August 2013 Pew Research Center Report, “A Rising Share of Young Adults Live in their Parents’ Home,” 21.6 million millennials lived with their parents in 2012, a whopping 36 percent of all people that age. It represents a 40-year high.
Their numbers have been steadily climbing. Before the Great Recession of 2007, 32 percent of adult children in this age group lived at home. When the recession officially ended in 2009, 34 percent were doing so.
It is very common to blame the boomerang phenomenon on the economy, but this polling shows that it was in full swing before the economy tanked, rose only a couple of percentage points during the collapse, and continues to rise even as the economy shows signs of recovering.
Digging a little deeper into the numbers from the Pew Report, we discovered an extremely surprising fact – men bounce back home at a rate of 40 percent, compared to just 32 percent for women.
This directly contradicts the old thinking that girls stay home until they get married while boys go out and start careers.
Not that we didn’t already know that stereotype was ancient history, but these days more young women are attending and graduating from college than men as well. Fortune Magazine says, “Female grads now account for about 60% of U.S. bachelor’s degree holders.”
So more women are getting degrees and less of them are returning home after school. This came as a bit of a surprise to us, but after some thought it fit in with our theory that there are basically two kinds of boomerang kids.
Some of them, likely female from what we’ve seen here, may be effected by the economy but are seeking solutions, while others, more often young men, seek the path of least resistance. The Tribune article identifies the two types very well:
Many of these offspring return home with a specific plan. Perhaps they want to quickly pay off their student loans before getting their own apartment. Or they have a few more classes to finish up on their college degree.
Obviously these people are not the problem. These young adults have goals and no intention of staying in mom and dad’s house indefinitely. However, there are a whole bunch of less motivated boomerangs bouncing back to the old homestead, and the article hits the nail on the head about them:
Others have less direction. They may be unable to land a job in their field and, after a few month of trying, decide they no longer need to look. Some lack any goals for themselves or continually promise they’ll start looking for work. Others appear unable to fend for themselves and may use drugs or hang with friends who are equally underperforming.
These are the ones causing their parents to pull their hair out. The article goes on to offer some of the usual advice, charge rent, have rules, make them pay their own way, and set a departure date – all good ideas.
But we have heard from numerous folks frustrated by their boomerang brats ignoring these, or any reasonable boundaries. What to do then?
YOUR TURN: You’ve heard our thoughts – what’s your take? Were you as surprised at the male/female divide as we were? Why do you think this shift is happening?
Join your GypsyNesters in beautiful Twillingate, Newfoundland!
We kayaked with whales! And dolphins! AND icebergs!
We became honorary Newfoundlanders by getting “Screeched In” – we kissed the cod, shot the Screech and took the oath (in varying degrees of success)!
Sample toutons and tea, check out a real-deal musical group and enjoy wine made from… CONTINUE READING >>
While we were no longer iceberg virgins after our tour of Newfoundland’s Great Northern Peninsula, we were far from experts. Twillingate, proclaimed as the Iceberg Capital of the World, could help us change that.
The town sits in the heart of Iceberg Alley, the path bergs typically travel along the Labrador Current on their way south from Greenland.
But before viewing some of the floating chunks of busted glacier, we wanted to taste them.
Having already sampled beer and vodka made from melted bergs, it was time to try wine.
Getting Funky with the Puffin and Loose with the Moose Joose
Chief cook and bottle washer, Danny Bath, was kind enough to show us around the winery.
The wines are made from local fruits and berries in a building that was a school up until 1991, and Danny happily runs the show from the old principle’s office he once dreaded getting called into.
By strict definition these beverages are not technically wines, they are spirits, in that they are distilled, not fermented.
Our first taste showed us that didn’t matter, the Funky Puffin, Moose Joose, and Krooked Cod were all fruity, fun, and fabulous.
Auk Island even has a couple selections that contain Newfoundland’s notorious rum, Screech. The fire water seemed okay when mixed with the berries, but we had heard many tales of this treacherous libation.
This was our first encounter with the unofficial provincial potent potable, but it would not be our last. We had an appointment to be “Screeched In” later that night.
But before we faced that fate we sampled some tasty treats made from the expended wine making mash.
The leftover berries are used to flavor ice cream, and the result is a veritable taste explosion. Some of the best ice cream we have ever tried.
Now that’s some ingenious recycling.
Toutons and Tea
But we had to keep moving, we had one more stop before our date with destiny later that night, The Split Peas were performing at the Touton House.
For over twenty years this group of women have been entertaining and fueling locals and visitors alike with authentic Newfoundland music, accompanied by toutons and tea.
Toutons are a traditional fried bread, served with molasses or partridge berry jam and washed down with tea, while The Peas provide homespun humor and harmonies.
During our refreshment break we also learned a bit about The Orangemen while wandering around the Touton House, which used to be the town’s Orange Lodge.
The Orange Order was originally an Irish Protestant organization founded in 1796 in honor of King William of Orange.
It came to the new world with Irish immigrants and became quite popular in Newfoundland, and to a lesser degree eastern Canada and the northeastern United States.
Back in their heyday they were known to get a bit unruly from time-to-time in their opposition to all things Catholic. Over the years membership declined and they settled into a more run-of-the-mill fraternal order.
Becoming Honorary Newfoundlanders by Getting Screeched In
After the show our time had come, we could no longer avoid our fate. Truth is we were both looking forward to it, even a little giddy at the prospect of getting Screeched In.
As a couple of what the locals call “Come From Away,” we relished the opportunity to become honorary Newfoundlanders.
We would gladly accept, but there are rules, the ceremony must be performed properly.
Wilma at The Anchor Inn was kind enough to provide all of the necessary arrangements, so at 9 PM sharp we stepped up to the bar for our initiation.
Dressed in full fisherman regalia, our presiding officer swore us in by having us repeat an oath, kiss a cod, and take a shot of Screech rum.
WATCH: Your GypsyNesters get Screeched In – one did a WAY better job than the other!
Then our presiding officer made it official by asking, “Is ye a Screecher?”
To which we replied (in varying degrees of success), “deed I is, me ol’ cock, and long may your big jib draw,” meaning indeed we were old friend and may your sails always be filled with wind. At that point we were issued certificates confirming our new found (land) status.
We don’t know the origin of the name Screech, but our theory is that it is from the sound one makes the first time they try it.
No doubt that is also the last time for most of them.
It seems safe to assume that if not for use in these services Screech rum might have gone out of business years ago.
All we knew is that we wanted to make sure to sleep off any lingering effects because we had an early morning cruise scheduled to get crazy close to some icebergs, and hopefully whales.
Kayaking with Whales, Dolphins and Icebergs! One of the best days of our lives!
We met Grant of Ocean Quest Close Encounters on the dock bright and early and loaded a couple kayaks onto a motorized zodiac.
On our way out of the bay Grant gave us an overview of the history and geology of the area and took us into a small cove where thousands of capelin were bunching up in their annual spawning ritual.
After reviewing our underwater camera footage we revised our estimate, there must have been millions.
Interesting as they were, we came to see the big suckers, so onward to the huge hunk of ice.
Grant knew right where the berg was, they don’t move too fast, but whales could be anywhere.
So the ice would be our first stop, but before we got to the iceberg he got to do his best “Thar she blows.” We looked up excitedly, just in time to catch a fluke sliding back into the sea.
As excited as we were about bergs, we were even more pumped to spot some humps, humpback whales that is, so Grant set a course for the giants and mashed the motor.
Next thing we knew he was putting the kayaks in the water and asking if we were ready. Ready? Is anyone ever really ready to approach an animal that dwarfs a Greyhound Bus in a small plastic boat? You bet we were ready!
WATCH: Seriously, one of the best days of our lives! We were right in amongst a serious amount of sea creatures – and icebergs!
Something must have snapped in our brains because we jumped in and started madly paddling directly toward a pair of the mammoth sea mammals.
We rowed and gawked while the humpbacks breached, spouted and splashed, but we never caught all the way up to them because they are much better swimmers than we are kayakers.
We did get close enough that one took a dive and swam right under us. All David could think was don’t come up, don’t come up.
Veronica, however, was thinking about the viral video she could film – Crazy Old People Get Taken Out by Humpback Whale!
After humoring us by hanging around for a few minutes the pair moved on. Try as we might there was no keeping up with them, so we turned our attention to the ice.
This had to be the only way in the world that sitting in a kayak just a few feet away from an iceberg could ever seem anticlimactic.
That feeling evaporated in a matter of seconds though, once we became mesmerized by the beauty of the blue ice.
Grant warned, “don’t get too close, it looks a little tippy,” but we weren’t concerned.
In fact, every care in the world disappeared while we stared into 10,000 years of frozen history.
Finally the frigid water, and Grant’s need to meet his next group of lucky explorers, forced us back aboard the zodiac for the ride back to Twillingate.
We were downright babbling with excitement all the way in, but with good reason, this had been a truly unbelievable morning.
We had just done two of the coolest things we’d ever done in our entire lives in the span of a few minutes.
We’re so honored! Check us out getting “Screeched In” – we kissed the cod, took a shot that put hair on our chests and recited the solemn oath… See more about the ceremony here! >>
We’re so honored! Check us out getting “Screeched In” – we kissed the cod, took a shot that put hair on our chests and recited the solemn oath… See more about the ceremony here! >>
An AMAZING day! Watch it full screen (click the bottom right on video) for full awesomeness… see more here! >>
One of the greatest experiences of my life was when our guide let us loose in a kayak in whale-infested waters outside of the picturesque town of Twillingate in Newfoundland. The area is called “Iceberg Alley” and, when the sun is bright, the sea dances with light and more shades of blue than a mind can process.
Live longer, feel better and perhaps even keep your original knees and hips… blah, blah, blah. We’ve all heard the healthy reasons we should get off our rumps and out in the world.
In case your joints aren’t that important to you, here are some not-so-healthy rewards that might inspire you to take that first step.
Your GypsyNesters are glad to share some of the reasons that walking is such a substantial part our lives (in the ever popular Top Ten List form)… CONTINUE READING >>
Live longer, feel better and perhaps even keep your original knees and hips… blah, blah, blah. We’ve all heard the healthy reasons we should get off our rumps and out in the world.
Pretty good reasons to participate in an activity that requires very little equipment – basically clothes and shoes. Most of us have those lying around the house somewhere, don’t we?
The thing to take into consideration is that different types of shoes serve for different purposes. Websites such as *https://shoeadviser.com/* can quickly let you assess your needs and match the best walking pair of shoes to your lifestyle. Since most of our day consists of walking, it’s important to be cozy when doing so
Or we could get more into it with some of the best walking shoes around.
In case your joints aren’t that important to you, here are some not-so-healthy rewards that might inspire you to take that first step.
The GypsyNesters are glad to share some of the reasons that walking is such a substantial part our lives (in the ever popular Top Ten List form):
10) Finding money. We figure there’s a lot of it just laying around out there. Millions, actually.
Think about it, if you added up all of the stray dough just laying around it boggles the mind.
Over 30 million dollars if each American has lost just one dime. We just want our fair share. Seriously, it’s amazing how good you get at it.
Hint: In the mornings, walk by places that people have enjoyed a drink or three the night before. Veronica found a five dollar bill in a parking lot one morning. She was ecstatic. A few steps later she found a twenty. True story. more on this…
When we’re in a new place, watching the people around us is a great way to learn about the area. And we’ve made quite a few friends along the way… meet more great people with us…
8) Great company. It’s amazing how much we have to say to each other when we’re not competing with the TV, phone or internet. We really have some wonderful discussions.
Though TV, phone and internet are portable nowadays, we find it refreshing not to carry them along. Terribly old school, eh?
7) Weird shop owners. Both weird shop owners and weird shop owners. (BTW, weird=good in our book!)
New Orleans is at the top of our list, with many weird shops owned by weird owners, but we have stories from just about everywhere we’ve been.
Saunter into these strange places and create some stories of your own. more weird shops…
6) Cheesy tourist diversions. We’re real suckers for things like the world’s largest ball of twine and the world’s largest ball of paint (yes, they both exist and yes, we’ve seen them). We’ve also visited THE gigantic bologna in Bologna.
We’re always shocked at how we can round a corner and BAM!–there’s something truly colorful or bizarre to take in. Sometimes it’s the Statue of Liberty, and other times it’s a huge collection of ceramic duck salt & pepper shakers. What a wonderful world. check out more cheesy tourist diversions…
5) The Appy Crawl. We take making meals out of appetizers very seriously. Having them at multiple restaurants is even better.
For one thing, it forces us to walk off some of the food between stops, for another, we get to try several different places without destroying our credit rating. We’ve dubbed this bopping from eatery to eatery the “Appy Crawl.” see all of our appy crawl experiences…
David high fives the Vidalia Onion Mascot in Georgia.
4) Problem solving. Not only do we have each other’s (somewhat) undivided attention, it’s a lot harder to yell or freak out in public. It’s a good time to really hash things out.
We started this practice when we had kids in the house and we now have a really good groove with our walking and talking.
If we are having issues, walking takes us physically away from the immediate problem and helps us put things in perspective.
Whether it’s dogs (corn or otherwise), bags of roasted nuts, anything on a stick or wrapped in flat bread or deep fried balls of mystery… we’ve tried it all and haven’t barfed yet! more of our street food experiences…
Nagasaki, Japan is no doubt best known as the site of the second atomic bombing on August 9, 1945.
The Peace Garden commemorates that tragic event in a beautiful and hopeful place… CONTINUE READING >>
Nagasaki, Japan is no doubt best known as the site of the second atomic bombing on August 9, 1945.
The Peace Garden commemorates that tragic event in a beautiful and hopeful place.
Spring was in full bloom, so the path up the hill to The Peace Garden was brilliantly lined with flowers and the cherry blossoms were reaching their peak.
A remarkable sight anywhere, but made even more remarkable since many scientists predicted that no vegetation would grow on this ground for seventy-five years because of the radioactive fallout.
Monuments, given from cities and countries all around the globe to demonstrate their commitment to world peace, line the walkways that lead to The Fountain of Peace.
“Joy of Life” (right) donated in 1980 by the Czechoslovak Republic in 1980
More about beautiful, peaceful Nagasaki The fountain’s spraying water forms dove’s wings as a symbol of peace. Water has an emotional attachment to this memorial because so many died due to the lack of any drinkable water.
This was most poignantly brought to our attention by the inscription on the fountain. Sachiko Yamaguchi, a girl only nine years old at time of the bombing, wrote:
“I was thirsty beyond endurance. There was something oily on the surface of the water, but I wanted water so badly that I drank it just as it was.”
We were touched by a survivor who invited us to water his plant as an offering to world peace.
Deeply honored, tears poured down Veronica’s cheeks as she took up the ladle and read the translation of his amazing story.
“I would have died unless my boss had told me to do that irregular job of fixing parts in the other building. We were transferring to the new workplace.
The atomic bomb exploded 1.1 kilometers from my workshop of Mitsubishi Arsenal Co. Ohashi Factory.
The bomb blast blew me away 1.4 meters from my job site. Luckily I was behind the huge pillar that helped to save my life.
Survived were only two of us out of the 32 workers. All the rest perished.
As an atomic bomb survivor I want people throughout the world to know how horrible the atomic bombing was and how valuable peace is.”
The garden is built on the site of the Urakami branch of Nagasaki Prison where one hundred and thirty four people died.
The wall surrounding the prison was over twelve feet high and made from steel-reinforced concrete.
Reduced to nearly the foundation, the remains have been left in the garden.
Opposite the Fountain of Peace, the park is dominated by a huge statue known as The Prayer Monument for Peace.
Towering thirty feet high, it was erected on August 9, 1955, the tenth anniversary of the explosion.
The mammoth figure has his right hand extended upwards toward where the bomb fell, and his left outstretched in a gesture of peace. His eyes are closed in prayer.
Paper cranes hung in strands of a thousand each are offered by individuals wishing for peace.The Prayer Monument for Peace is flanked by paper cranes.
It’s hard to say how long we spent taking in the garden because there is a timeless, almost dreamlike quality to the memorial and we had great difficulty sorting out our emotions.
One thing we can say for certain, the park was incredibly successful at conveying its message of peace.
This was once the largest Catholic church in The Far East, but stood just a few hundred feet from the center of the atomic bomb blast that devastated the city in 1945.. CONTINUE READING >>
This was once the largest Catholic church in The Far East, but stood just a few hundred feet from the center of the atomic bomb blast that devastated the city in 1945.
However, a handful of statues survived the destruction and are now displayed in front of the rebuilt church.
Before the rebuilding, one small section of an original wall that remained standing was moved and placed on display at ground zero.
So we walked along the Shimonokawa River down to the hypocenter, the point directly below the explosion which was exposed to the center of the bomb’s destructive force, to see… continue to see the epicenter >>
