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My millennial children inform me that there is a resentment in their peer group about us "Boomers." There is a perception that it was much easier for us to achieve the "American Dream" of house, spouse, kids and dog running around a grassy back yard in paradise while Dad drank beer and cooked huge steaks on the grill after mowing the lawn.

I try to look at things open minded so I can see where the resentment comes from. However, the reality for me growing up as a Boomer in the 1970s was that I had to join the military because I could not afford college. College loans were not as easy to get back then and my parents were deemed "too rich" for financial aid, yet they were lower working class at best. As a child, our big thing was riding our bikes outside because there was really nothing to do in the house. No computers, no video games, no cellphones, no VCR and only 3 or 4 stations on the TV that showed nothing but soap operas and game shows for housewives during the daytime. So you really had to go outside and find your own fun.

Looking back, I don't think it was all that bad but kids today would be incredibly bored with the prospects we had.

I married in my early 20s (few Millenials even think about marriage until 30) and had to work fulltime from that point on and any college courses was done at night on my own time and dime. Bought a house for $92,000 when I was in my late 20s, so that was fairly cheap. But it was a "fixer-upper" that required me to spend the next 10 years redoing pretty much everything befor we considered it "nice."

All in all, it wasn't that difficult for me to build a nice lifestyle as a Boomer but it did take a lot of hard work. I feel bad that Millennials don't believe they have the same opportunities that Boomers had, but generally speaking, they have had much more pampered and sheltered lives than us boomers.

Parents always want the best for their kids. I think us Boomers, generally speaking, went too easy on our kids and did not teach them very well how to overcome adversity.

My own children turned out very well, they have their own homes and families, with very little help from the wife and I. We wanted them to feel like they earned their success on their own merits. Of course, when we kick off, we'll leave them a nice bundle but it feels good to see that they made it on their own and they should feel good about it too.

"As a child, our big thing was riding our bikes outside because there was really nothing to do in the house. No computers, no video games, no cellphones, no VCR and only 3 or 4 stations on the TV that showed nothing but soap operas and game shows for housewives during the daytime. So you really had to go outside and find your own fun."

In addition to school homework there were things called "hobbies" back then that were mostly done inside. Friendships were often made among those sharing the same hobbies. There were also after school or weekend activities with organizations like the YMCA, Boy Scouts, Boys Clubs, Girl Scouts, Camp Fire Girls, 4-H and even religious organization sponsored activities. If you couldn't get by on an allowance, if you had one, you might be tending a paper route, baby sitting, selling seeds or greeting cards door to door, or you might be doing yard work for neighbors.