Welcome back to the boathouse!After a brief hiatus—because, as Rachelle perfectly puts it, “life is life”—The Boathouse Girls are officially kicking off Season 2.If you’ve been following our journey, you know we’ve been through some big changes lately.Between Becky taking on new opportunities in the “Dakota Territory” and the general whirlwind that comes with being educators, our schedules have been a bit thrown off.But we are back, and today we’re jumping right into a topic that feels particularly relevant this spring: the cycle of life where everything old becomes brand new again.

The Gen-X Superpower: Adaptation

As Gen-Xers, we often hear younger generations talk about how we supposedly don’t accept change.But if you look at the trajectory of our lives, we’ve actually had to adapt more than almost any other generation.We started in a world of analog simplicity and now navigate a digital landscape that is often out of control.We are the generation that was raised to “figure it out” or “solve your own problem”.

In this episode, we explore how this “old school” grit is making a comeback—even if the younger generations are trying to claim these “new” ideas as their own.Whether it’s the return of neon, leotards, and oversized t-shirts, or the sudden obsession with “eras,” we’ve been there, done that, and we still have the original headbands to prove it.

The “Prom Emergency”: A Case Study in Retro Success

One of the best examples of “old being better than new” came from a recent “prom emergency” at Rachelle’s school.Traditionally, proms have moved toward fancy, expensive off-site venues.However, when budget constraints and scheduling conflicts hit, Rachelle suggested the ultimate throwback: holding the prom in the school gym.

The students reacted as if the world were ending.They couldn’t conceive of a “gym prom” being anything other than “icky”.But Rachelle reminded them of the 80s and 90s, where the fun wasn’t just the dance itself, but the bonding that happened while decorating all night to transform a multipurpose room into a dreamscape.

The result?By turning the gym into “Big City Nights” with a snack stand, a photo booth, and even a courtyard transformed into “Central Park” (complete with a teacher-run hot dog stand), the students had a blast.They stayed longer and were more engaged than they ever were at the small, sterile venues of previous years.It turns out, the “old” way of doing things was more personal, more fun, and far more memorable.

Preserved by… Baloney?

We also had to touch on the curious way Gen-X is aging.There is a running joke that we are “aging differently” than the generations before us.Rachelle joked that it might be the fountain of youth found in the preservatives of our childhood diets.Could it be that all that spam, baloney, and hot dog cheese finally worked to our benefit?

While we aren’t nutritionists, there is something to be said for the simple routines we learned from our grandmothers.Whether it’s the steadfast use of Oil of Olay or just a commitment to basic moisturizing, we’re finding that the old-school methods of self-care still hold up, even if we were the little girls once telling our grandmothers “it’s not working”.

Reconnecting with our Roots

As we get older, we find ourselves valuing the people who understand what it was like to be a kid “back then”.Whether it’s reconnecting at an old-school reunion in June or finally getting to the age where we can start enjoying our lives, there is a deep desire to return to our roots.

We’ve realized that while change is inevitable—jobs change, relationships change, and “life is life”—the foundational experiences of our Gen-X upbringing have given us the tools to persevere.We don’t need a sticker for being on time or doing our jobs; we just do them.

So, as we kick off Season 2, we invite you to embrace the “old” in your own life.Put on that oversized t-shirt, ignore the humidity “soup” outside, and remember: you already have everything you need to figure it out.

Thanks for joining us at the boathouse.We’ll see you next time!

Watch the full episode on YouTube