Sixty and not tiring to retire

A Miracle in the Making

Considering only man's machinations and all the wiles that deceive us, when that little boy was placed in the hand – not hands – of his father, they were solely thinking of his next breath. That was the precariousness of the situation as it was conveyed to me.

Then came the subsequent hour, for only a city could support him; my small town lacked the medical facilities for such an early arrival. Then the weeks in a bottle, or more accurately, behind glass, and then years have turned into decades. Today marks a diamond jubilee.

Living Proof

I am a living miracle of blessing and good fortune. There have been many doubts and confusions suggesting this day might not be seen, an endless list that needs no further mention.

Congratulations are also owed to my parents. They have a child of 60, yet I still navigate the parent-child dynamic, as if I had never become an adult. That has spawned many stories as well. I am simply filled with gratitude. It is incredible: I am really 60 years old, and I get to tick that other age group box.

Gratitude and Partnership

So many people over the years have shaped this story, and for the past seven years, my partner Brian. His unwavering presence has been a steady source of strength, especially during some recent uncertain moments of my life. Work and health issues, marked by fragility and doubt, created challenges and milestones; Brian's support has been invaluable.

Sharing this part of my extraordinary journey with him has inspired dreams, ignited hopes, and declared visions. We are not tiring to retire but eager to aspire and grasp the essence of our imaginations. Thank you for celebrating this jubilee with us.

Blog - Ain't no stopping the Gen X Diamond Jubilee now (January 2025)

Ain't no stopping the Gen X Diamond Jubilee now

Luther Vandross - Ain't No Stoppin' Us Now (Live from Royal Albert Hall)

The starting gun

2025, our year has come, we are the first of the Generation X (Gen X) cohort born from 1965 to 1980 will celebrate our 60^th birthday. What a generation we were and still are, some lost, some already grandparents, if not great-grandparents, others singularly amazing charting paths of adventure living experiences only few could imagine.

My sojourn began as 1965 was closing, earlier in the year, Sir Winston Churchill had passed on, my parents were new arrival students in the United Kingdom, and I was not expected until late March 1966, I guess I was readier to see the world before the conventional schedule.

Through my own eyes

The things I can recall from childhood are from the age of three, a birthday, days out with Joy at the arboretum, and encounters instigated by mum to attend white garment prayer meetings. Superstition has a way of sticking to you regardless of where you end up.

Of the things I do not remember but I learnt of or were told was England won the World Cup in 1966, I always entered a room and addressed everyone, “Ladies & Gentlemen”, some other funny, quirky, and interesting things, my precocity, the penchant for making conversation with strangers, our imagination knew no bounds.

The Nigeria I experienced after the Civil War was prospering, we returned to live in the north, in Kaduna & Jos, environments so familiar to my mother who had her childhood in northern Nigeria too. My schools were an international tapestry of diversity where most of the Black kids were born abroad and those of other races were born in Nigeria. We had the English accents.

Life is a story of stories

Yet, what experiences life has brought us in stories of adversity and triumph, we are at an age that when our parents breached 50, we thought they were over the hill and far away. Now that we are mostly 59 and some have already clocked 60 in the past week, we still hold on to as much of the youthfulness we can retain, and finding out that the world has changed so much as we have changed with the world.

According to the Britannica website, “Gen X is known for being resourceful, independent, and good at maintaining work-life balance. They were the first generation to grow up with personal computers and tend to have liberal views on social issues.” [Britannica: Generation X]

Let the diamond jubilees begin

Much as we would take advantage of the benefits of becoming sixty in our various domains, we are hardly the retiring type. I know, some of us want to return to university to do different courses, we have ideas we still want to implement, it is unlikely we’ll be shuffled off into irrelevance when we have such a resource of knowledge and experience to share, just as we are learning new things.

For our children and grandchildren, you will see a new kid on the block, easy to converse and have a good relationship with, willing to try things that would astound onlookers. That sense of fun, a bit of insouciance with youthful exuberance and the refusal to be too groan (grown) up to participate is something you will see a lot of.

Yes, we will be respectable and wild, snobbish and chilled, confident and ingenue, expert and tyro, growing younger as the numbers suggest we might be older. Thankfully, we are not the Baby Boomers, we are the change makers who have a purpose for living the best we can be, and we know it. You are about to see a Gen X revelation, ain’t no stopping us now.

Welcome to Gen X at 60, it is going to be a long year of diamond jubilee parties.