Noticing Matriarchs

I am noticing matriarchs more these days…now that I am setting a pace that is my own rather than meeting the demands of a challenging career overlaid on family life. When I travel I see them on everywhere - sometimes alone, sometimes with a partner or sibling, sometimes with a grandchild. Most of them seem as comfortable as I am to reach this part of their life. Here are some that I noticed on my recent travel between Baltimore and Tucson: 

• She was sitting in the row in front of me on the flight from Denver to Baltimore - holding a grandchild that was probably between 1 and 2 years old. The child must have slept most of the flight because I didn’t notice her until we were getting off the plane when the matriarch handed the child to the man next to her (I assume the grandfather of the child) with a smile and he chuckled that the child tasted like cheesy crackers when he kissed the little girl before standing up to get off the plane.
• The two women were standing in front of the booth with materials for Arizona State Parks when I went to pick up a brochure for a park we would tour later in the week. I asked about what might be blooming at the park and they both were full of information on what to look for when we got to the park.
• The helper for our tour of a cavern - bringing up the end of the group - was a matriarch. She must have led the tours on occasion because she knew about as much as the guide, helping people understand what the guide had explained and even adding information for those around her. 

The baby boomer women are already - or will be soon - joining the matriarch ranks….and bringing their zest for life and huge talents into this stage of life. Some of us may continue in careers; others may try something completely different from their primary career either to earn money or keep from being bored; still others may become full-time grandmothers, savoring the time with young children; or some will simply do all those things they didn’t have time to do while in their primary career. Maybe we still can have it all (or at the part that we really want)!