"You can't have your cake and eat it too"

Yes, I'm a baby boomer!  Big Surprise! It seems like that is all we ever hear about are the Boomer's and what they are or are not going to do.  Growing up, I don't remember ever being categorized as a 'boomer' or as anything important in the world's view.  I just did what I thought I should do in order to get through school and life.  I remember being in Mrs. Carter's sixth grade classroom when the Principal, Mr. Miller, came on the loud speaker (which is what we called it, not the P.A. system), to announce that President Kennedy had been shot and killed.  Mrs. Carter was crying and wringing her hands and her poor old head was wagging as though the end of the world was coming soon.  For the rest of the afternoon, we listened to the broadcast by Walter Cronkite about the events unfolding in Dallas, Texas. I don't remember ever being in Dallas before this event, although I had an Aunt and an Uncle who lived in the area and who raised their families there. 
I know lots of you remember where you were too on that unfortunate event, but I just needed to get that off my chest.  We baby boomers have lived through some remarkable events and changes, and we have had a hand in causing some of those changes!  We  were specifically targeted by the world of merchandising to test their products.  I didn't know that!  I was just a kid, but I do remember feeling envious of my friends who perhaps had more money, and could buy new clothing, records, and magazines.  Of course I grew up with three sisters, and a brother, so what little we had, from my dad who worked at the "City Water Department" (and we all know that civil servants didn't and probably still don't get paid very much) had to go a long way.
My clothing was hand made or hand me downs.  Since I was the first child (how did you like the way I said I was the oldest?) in the family, I had hand me downs from my older cousins.  There were, however, special times when I got a new hand made dress, birthdays or Christmas.  I never had "spending money".  My dad didn't believe in an allowance, so I was never able to get records, or movie magazines to keep up with the latest in the movie world, or go very frequently to a movie for that matter! (boo hoo, don't you feel sorry for me!)
Records, now that's a blast from the past! We boomers have seen the start of hard vinyl records and players, through the 4-track tape players to the cassette tape players and now a whole new world of digital.  Records brought a whole new way to enjoy music.  It was clear, not staticy (if that's a word) with the radio signal interferance like when we listened to the radio.  Living 15 miles from the nearest town didn't help that radio signal, but records put the Beatles, the Raiders and Gary Lewis and the Playboys right in our bedrooms, (which is where our record players were because they were "portable"). Oh and I forgot to mention, "The Archies".
Before the portable record player, I remember Dad's old phonograph player.  It was a piece of furniture and played two speeds, 78 RPM and 33 1/3 RPM.  When I got my brand new 'stereo record player', stereo, because it had two speakers, I could put it anywhere in the house and it played all three speeds, including 45 RPM.     This was all about information, we were beginning the information age.  The 78 RPM records only held one song on each side, but they were huge, thick, heavy records.  The 33 1/3 records held whole albums on the two sides, they were big records, 12 inches maybe in diameter,  then came the little 45's which again held only one song, but it was smaller (about 6 inches in diameter) and it may even had had a better song on the reverse side!
As I grew up, going on through Jr. High school, and then High School, I did what I  was supposed to do.  Started dating when I was 15, memorized Bible passages, played the organ and piano at church, graduated high school in the Honor Society, made good grades.  However, being a girl, my only choices encouraged by teachers, parents, pastors, etc. was, going to college to become a teacher or nurse then getting married and of course having children. The world of women executives was just formulating, and of women in the military was only by way of the medical field and was again only being formulated by those willing to pave the way ahead of me.
Now for some other "facts"...
 We 'boomers' didn't want to be like our parents were.  According to the wikipedia a baby boomer is someone who was born between the post world war II years 1946 to 1964.  It seems that over seventy six million babies were born during that time in America alone.  No wonder our generation is so influential, sheer numbers alone makes it so.  When you look at the fact that various marketing companies started out pitching their product at boomers and their parents "almost from the time they were conceived", it makes sense that we, the "boomers" should "control over 80% of personal financial assets and more than 50% of discretionary spending power. They are responsible for more than half of all consumer spending, buy 77% of all prescription drugs, 61% of OTC medication and 80% of all leisure travel."  I fit the norm for the average "baby boomer". We kind of rejected or redefined traditional values, some of us going so far as thinking we were a 'special' generation.
Me, I got married at age 18, I loved my husband, had my children, felt guilty for not going to college. Then felt guilty because I didn't have an outside the home job, or career, like so many women who entered the work force.  When I eventually found work outside the home, I felt guilty because I was leaving my children at a day care!  Oh, and I did my fair share of rebeling, still do from time to time. 
My mom once said to me "You can't have your cake and eat it too."  I know that statement may not make much sence to some, but it meant that in making a decision, I couldn't get both sides of the decision.  So when I found a job I was good at, I had to feel guilt about being away from my children.  Or when I went to college, I had to feel guilty about taking family income to afford my class, etc. etc. etc.!  That's what Being Caught Between a Rock and a Hard Place is like for me.