My parents are boomers and always encouraged me to feel my feelings. All my friends wanted to hang out at my house.

"Walking through the grocery store, I heard it, the dreaded phrase: "OK, boomer." The woman behind me was talking loudly on her phone, relaying some sort of lousy experience. My stomach tensed as I passed by her with my shopping cart. It was hard to hear her intense aggravation because, technically, my parents are boomers. However, they've never lived up to the stereotype. While my friends' parents were avoiding emotions or burying them deep down, my parents were supporting me in feeling all of mine."

"When I was growing up, I assumed all families functioned the same way - you know, where the parents ask their kids how they feel and then take the time to listen and empathize. As far back as first grade, I can remember sitting on our couch, talking to my mom while I watched the crease between her eyebrows deepen. "But how are you feeling now?" she asked, reaching for my hand. I was crying so hard I gave myself the hiccups. The friend drama at school was real, and my mom listened to every word, riding out my emotions with me - never rushing me through so she could continue her evening, or telling me to get over it. She whispered she understood, and asked questions - more for me to grasp the situation than for her. Instances like these built an emotional confidence where I felt safe being myself and not shamed for it."

"This unconditional support wasn't only reserved for me, but for my friends, too. "Why don't we meet at your house?" my high school BFF always asked. In fact, most of my friends preferred hanging out at my house. My besties confided in me that it was "easier for them to be themselves" with my parents, but I didn't"

The narrator's boomer parents rejected generational stereotypes by practicing emotionally attentive parenting. From early childhood, the parents asked about feelings, listened, empathized, and helped the narrator process emotions without rushing or shaming. Those interactions built emotional confidence and a sense of safety. Friends preferred spending time at the narrator's house because the parents allowed them to be themselves and offered unconditional support. The narrator now models parenting on that example, encouraging feelings and emotional openness with their own children. Hearing the phrase "OK, boomer" triggered reflection on how generational labels can misrepresent individual family dynamics.

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