For the first time in 13 years, the U.S. Census Bureau has released a collection of statistics on the Baby Boomer generation, those people ages 42-60 years old in the year 2006.

There were 77,980,296 Baby Boomers living in the US in 2006 (50.9% women). That number is projected to be 57,793,135 in the year 2030 (an estimated 54.9% will be women).

Middle age was a tough pill to swallow. At least it was for me, turning fifty and now about to turn fifty-four finds me pondering how I've lived the first half of my life and what I'm going to do about the second. Most of us baby boomers are in the grips of a midlife crisis, going through menopause or even considering some form of cosmetic transformations. Some, if not most are caring for elderly parents while also parenting children or even grandchildren all while working full time.

Even though it was strange to think that I was now in the throes of midlife, it was also a very exciting time. My children were grown and making lives of their own and for the first time, I was able to think of me, first.

Today, Boomer women are reinventing themselves at an astonishing pace, at midlife by choosing to finally follow their passions.

The tidal waves of Boomer women came of age during the women's movement and civil rights era. They helped seed the modern day drug culture, had illegal abortions, and protested Vietnam while losing friends, brothers, fathers, boyfriends and husbands in battle. Some of them burned their bras and helped spark a sexual revolution in the ‘60s and early '70s and on into the early ‘80s.

They benefited from the women's movement. Boomer women now had greater access to choice when it came to their own bodies. They led an evolution from housewives to career women.

Society-shaping events took place: The assassinations of John F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King, Malcolm X, and Robert F. Kennedy; racial riots; Roe v. Wade; the moon landing; and the Beatles. Woodstock, the celebration of peace, love, and rock and roll, branded a generational divide once and for all.

As young women we were told the world was ours. We could and should DO something with our lives. We were told to never become dependent on a man and to challenge ideas and reinvent lifestyles. The traditional role of the sexes played a constant tug-of-war with work and home.

The 40s, 50s and 60s no longer seem so old – 40 is the new 30 – 50 is the new 40 and so on – or so we have eluded ourselves into believing. We are more educated, spiritual, wealthy, and healthier than any generation of women to traverse the road ahead. We've changed society's expectations and continue to redefine being a woman.

Boomer women are transforming and influencing every segment of society. As empty nesters, we have time to reflect. We are diving inward, seeking out life and business coaches, exploring, and finding our own new direction. We are not afraid to seek spiritual guidance and question if we have been true to ourselves or to what society expects from us. We're searching for a little peace and direction for whatever time we have left on this earth. Balance and pursuing our passions have taken over our obsession with being what others want us to be. We are finding contentment in…ourselves.

Women of a “certain age” have had more choices than their mothers' generation and have lived and continue to man the helm of uncharted waters. We are still pioneers. We are faithful, loving, and hard-working women who can stir the boiling pot, create brilliant presentations, run marathons and help to mend our ailing country.

We are discerning women who have lived compelling lives, loved hard, and made a difference. And we will continue to pave the way so that our generation of women will be stronger from knowledge gained, and the generation of women who follow in our path will hopefully find it less rocky.

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Kalon Women Digital Magazine: An online magazine for women forty plus.

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