Obviously, we care deeply about the state of our friends’ health. If someone is going through a rough patch health-wise or has a chronic condition that warrants attention, we want to be kept up to date and be supportive. Unfortunately, we’ve reached that age we’ve all dreaded and made fun of when we were younger. It’s far too easy to let matters of health dominate conversations. A friend’s comment the other day brought this home in a way that got my attention and I decided it was time to address the issue.

My friend mentioned that she spent some time recently with a group of fellow boomers and all they talked about was their aches and pains, their blood pressure, their cholesterol levels, and their endless doctors’ appointments. She tried to change the subject and get them to switch to lighter, more interesting topics but they kept coming back to their health problems. While we’re not unsympathetic—it’s important to share necessary and important information about the state of our health—not everyone in the room is as concerned about our bowels, our bunions, and our blood pressure as we are.

The last two years have been challenging for everyone. Surgeries are being postponed or cancelled. It could take months to get an appointment and heaven forbid we need to go to the hospital for any reason when non-vaccinated people are occupying valuable hospital beds. Health and wellness are the major topics of conversation these days and just at a time when we need to be focused on more positive and optimistic events in our lives.

Compounding the problem of depressing health talk is the fact that most of us have done very little to nothing of interest while we’ve been isolating or lying low for nearly two years now. I can relate to this personally as it’s been hard coming up with blogging topics when I go nowhere and do nothing but grocery shop these days.

It’s not an insurmountable problem though. I hope we’re still reading good books, watching great movies on Netflix or our streaming services, creating new artwork, cooking new recipes, or gathering outside with neighbours for happy hour as often as possible. These activities must involve some funny stories or shareable experiences. Even our hair disasters and coping strategies could generate some interesting conversation not related to our digestive problems.

I happen to love British comedy and British mystery stories, and I’m always open to talk about my various addictions like ice cream and British television. Right or wrong, I’m always up for a rousing discussion about politics which is usually verboten—unless it concerns Trump in which case my blood pressure and stress levels can’t take it. Sorry, that one just slipped out. And, to be completely honest, only if your opinions are the same as mine because I don’t like confrontation.

Here are a few suggestions for some fun television you might want to check out that will make you laugh and take your mind off your acid reflux and COVID weight gain:

• Baroness von sketch – four Canadian women in hilarious sketch comedy scenarios.
• Fleabag – British 2-season series with Phoebe Waller-Bridge.
• Catastrophe – another British series about a Canadian businessman who gets a British school teacher knocked up.
• After Life – thought-provoking series by Ricky Gervais.
• The movie Death at a Funeral is hilarious, but only watch the British version, NOT the American re-do.
• Stath Lets Flats – another Britcom about a hapless real estate agent who tries hard and always fails.
• The Graham Norton Show is a British talk show that is guaranteed to put you in a good mood.
• Two Days in Paris – French woman and American man stop in Paris for two days to visit her parents. Cultural differences abound.

  

There are endless funny sitcoms and other shows you can watch: SNL, late-night talk shows, re-runs of The Big Bang Theory, or Everybody Loves Raymond. If you happen to love reading as much as I do, check out all my book reviews in the Books section of the menu at the top of the page. I never stick with a book I don’t love so all my reviews are about books I thoroughly enjoyed and likely to appeal to baby boomers.

Writers are encouraged to be creative by “prompts”, words or topics picked at random to generate the flow of new ideas, thought processes and words. We can do the same for generating interesting conversation by playing that familiar old game of What’s your favourite dessert? Best vacation ever? Favourite movie and why? Best lover? The possibilities are endless.

Let’s try to keep our discussions and conversations uplifting and positive. For those of us who keep a Gratitude Journal, we are constantly reminded that there are so many people and experiences in our lives worth celebrating and enjoying, particularly now when our American friends celebrate Thanksgiving. Surround yourself with positivity and happiness and do not let negativity suck the energy out of you. Do what makes you feel good. Ice cream does it for me. The details of your latest digestive problems do not. So, if you want to know how I’m doing, “I’m great!”. What have you been doing to celebrate life lately?