Re-Construction

I count myself in the middle to the tail end of the baby boomers. We are re-constructionists. I and many of my friends bought houses in which we replaced original windows and doors, heating units and installed central air conditioning units. Some of us eventually re-did the house altogether, opening up kitchens to living areas and replacing countertops and cabinets. Some of us replaced these items because there were more energy efficient iterations of them on the market. Some of us tore down walls to collaborate and communicate more effectively.
We look for houses with good bones, we value what is there, but we are eager to make it better to fit the needs of our families. I saw an article about house design not too long ago that tracked the opening up of the kitchen to other living spaces side by side with the burgeoning women’s movement of the 60’s, 70’s and 80’s. While there had been a small spurt of new construction with a more closed kitchen recently, most of us are not going back there.
Good bones. We’re not about throwing everything out. In a way, we are bridge builders, working to connect the dots between our parents’ generation and the offspring we have. My daughters roll their eyes, but occasionally they are humming to a Joni Mitchell tune. They asked to have a couple of Earth, Wind and Fire songs put on their iPods. My peeps are zumba-ing to Lady Gaga and Usher.
Good values. Community, connection, collaboration. These are probably the re-building blocks of my generation. Call it what you will: decentralized management styles, emotional intelligence, new value propositions, I call it “women in the workplace.” Women couldn’t help but bring their authentic selves to the table. This “let’s make sure everyone is connected” mentality permeates the new work environment. We couldn’t help it.
Technology has helped the employed mom and dad juggle work and family. As a tool, it has increased our ability to connect with one another. A snow day turns into a conference call/on-line meeting day. With Microsoft Communicator on my desk top, the geographic size of my responsibility shrinks to my desktop, less time traveling means more time on task.
My grandparents’ generation forged new territory, continued settling the west, built around the outer loops made possible by interstate highway legislation passed during the Eisenhower administration. My generation, and those who come after us, will re-build, holding on to values and physical spaces but seeing them just a little bit differently. Perhaps because of the increasing scarcity of land or the valuing of that land and the earth’s resources, we are not as willing to keep stretching and making a new outer ring. The future belongs to those who are bridge builders, who can challenge all of us to see the good in what was, and stand on the shoulders of those ideas and take them another collaborative step closer to a more perfect community.