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Greg Sullivan
September 08, 2025

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"Hanging by the Blockbuster door to see if any good movies were returned."

Every generation has collective experiences in its youth that help define it. Baby Boomers (1946 to 1964) had the Kennedy assassination, the Vietnam War, and the Moon landing. Millennials (1981 to 1996) lived through 9/11, the Great Recession, and the social media revolution. What about Gen X (1965 to 1980)? In their youth, they experienced the fall of the Soviet Union, the rise of pop culture in the ‘80s, and Kurt Cobain’s suicide.

Gen Xers were also born in an in-between era after women entered the workforce and before the advent of helicopter parenting. They fell through the cracks and were often left on their own. That’s a big reason why they have a reputation for being resourceful and independent. They are also known to be a bit cynical and sarcastic, a trait that comes from the economic and social tumult they experienced as children.

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Find yourself a couch friend.

Not all friends do all things. It's not abnormal to have friends you go to social events with, and other friends who are more comfortable inside. A lot of times, one of your indoor friends will turn into your "couch friend," and surprisingly, having a couch or "errand friend" can help you both save some money.

So, what is a couch friend? They're the friend who doesn't make you feel like you need to run around shoving dirty dishes in the oven before they arrive. They know you have a gaggle of children and work an ungodly amount of hours; they're not judging your messy house. These friends just want to hang out in sweatpants and exist next to you for a few hours.

I wanna go just to meet your grandpa. 🌊

Avoid the dreaded monosyllabic response with these engaging alternatives.

Effective parenting is largely about communication, but sometimes communicating with kids is easier said than done. If you're a parent of a school-aged child, especially a tween or teen, you've likely had some version of this conversation more times than you can count:

"Hey, how was school today?"

"Fine."

"Just fine? Anything interesting happen?"

"Not really."

"Well, did you have a good day at least?"

"Yep."

The "How was school?" question inevitably leads to monosyllabic answers that feel more like an obligatory response rather than an actual, thoughtful answer. And yet we keep asking it because it's a reasonable question and we really want to know.

"I struggle to keep on top of tidying as it is, and this is a massive added challenge."

Millennial parents and Boomer grandparents don't always see eye to eye on parenting and grandparenting. Now, Millennial parents are uniting on a nightmare Boomer grandparenting trend that sees them "excessively gifting" their grandkids with tons of both new and old unwanted stuff during visits.

Ohio mom Rose Grady (@nps.in.a.pod) shared her "Boomer grandparent" experience in a funny and relatable video. "Just a millennial mom watching her boomer parents bring three full loads of 'treasures' into her home," she wrote in the overlay.

Grady can be seen looking out the window of her home at her Boomer mom and dad carrying bags and boxes up her driveway after several visits. The distressed and contemplative look on Grady's is speaking to plenty of Millennial moms.