The Magic Of Pippi Power Tea

Great lesson for Boomers who want to be confident

On my 70th birthday, I received a packet from my sister in Norway. Besides chocolate, a book, and some magazines, she sent me a box of Pippi Power Tea.

Photo of the Pippi Power tea taken by Annelie.

My sister, a few years younger than I, probably figured that I need all the help I can get. Hitting 70 may be a scary encounter for some. Growing older can be a time of steady decline; loss of health, strength, and confidence.

Confidence matters as we grow older, in more ways than one.

This research article describes how frail older adults are affected by their individual confidence and sense of personal control. Confidence affects our physical, mental, and social health and well -being. It relates to external and internal factors.

As a nurse, I know this to be true. According to the National Council on Aging (NCO), 94.9% of adults over 60 have at least one chronic condition, while 78.7% have two or more.

But this is not for me. Regardless of the physical, mental, or social health challenges that I encounter, I will put my best foot forward.

Please understand that I am not delusional. Being a seasoned Boomer girl, I know that aging can be messy, hard, and downright painful.

But I decided a long time ago that the Boomer years are going to be a time of glory; the pinnacle of my life. With Pippi Power Tea in my back pocket, I got it covered. I know that the best is yet to come.

Before further elaboration, I must give Pippi a proper introduction.

Pippi lives in a story book

As a little girl growing up in Norway in the 1950s and 60s, Pippi was the strongest girl I knew. The fact that she was an imaginary character in a book made no difference to me. She was my hero.

If you are a Boomer girl, chances are that you have heard of Pippi Longstocking. She was created in 1941 by Swedish author, Astrid Lindgren.

The author and her daughter Karin, who was sick at the time, had tons of fun, making up stories about Pippi.

Back then, Pippi was not considered to be an ordinary girl; she was colorful and adventures. At only nine years old, she lived by herself in her own house that she named Villa Villekulla.

Her parents were absent. Her Mom was now an angel, and her Papa was sailing the seven seas as a sea captain. Her live-in companions were a horse and a monkey named Mr. Nilsson.

Pippi had red hair and freckles. She dressed as she pleased, drank coffee, and had a trunk full of gold and treasures. What I admired most about this spectacular girl was her personality; she was strong and confident.

Pippi said she was the strongest girl in the world!

Back cover from Annelie's own copy of book, The Adventures of Pippi Longstocking By Astrid Lindgren

She could carry a horse and she could pick up bullies and throw them into a tree. Once she resisted policemen who wanted to place her in a children’s home because she lived alone and did not go to school. I thought that was super cool.

Pippi’s confidence was exceptional. Children were often made fun of for having red hair and freckles. But this girl had no concerns about that. In fact, she bought a salve to get more freckles. Her stockings had different colors and her shoes were several sizes too big.

Pippi embraced and celebrated herself the way she was.

The storylines often went against and compared with accepted norms. This delighted us young readers. Her best friends were Tommy and his sister Annika who lived next door. They had an ordinary lifestyle and lived with their parents. They were well dressed, well behaved, and they went to school.

Stories about Pippi and Tommy and Annika experiencing fun-filled adventures are at the core of all the Pippi Longstocking books. The excitement is built into daring activities and behaviors, testing strength and confidence.

This process is fun and delightful. I do not agree with everything the author writes, but it reminds us that we do have choices, in spite of having conformity tattooed into our mind.

Astrid Lindgren, the author and creator of Pippi exercised her own choices of going against social norms. She certainly needed all the confidence she could muster in order to act according to her own needs and wants.

When Astrid was young, she landed a job with her local newspaper. She fell in love and became pregnant. The father of the child was the chief editor of the paper. He proposed, but Astrid refused to marry him. This was back in 1926 and scandalous. It took strength and confidence for young Astrid to honor her own autonomy.

She was a single mother to her son Lars. Temporarily, she placed him with another family while she went to school and learned how to become a typist and a stenographer. Later, with help from her parents, she brought Lars home. She then got married and had another child, her daughter Karin.

The character of Pippi Longstocking came to life in 1941. The first storybook was published at the end of 1945 in Sweden. In 1959, when I was nine years old, Pippi was already a hero and entertained children way outside Sweden’s borders.

If Pippi was alive today, she would be over 80 years old. I imagine her to still be living in her own home, Villa Villekulla, surrounded by a beautiful wild and natural garden.

Her red hair has turned gray, and a messy bun has replaced the braids. Mr. Nelson and her pet horse have joined her parents in heaven, and her companions are now a couple of faithful cats. Tommy and Annika, her old friends, got married and moved away.

Her strength is not what it used to be, but her confidence is unshakable. Confidence makes life beautiful. For an octogenarian, life is not always easy. But when she hits some rough spots, she pours herself an extra cup of Power Tea.

A woman pouring tea in a teacup by Christian Bowen on Unsplash

What is Pippi Power Tea?

Because most readers have no sister in Norway to ship them tea, the great news is that we can make our own Power Tea. Making our own is the best kind. On this side of the Atlantic Ocean, we call it Boomer Power Tea.

The Boomer Power Tea is your own creation. If you want, you can put some ginger in the water. In fact, you can use any tea at hand; green tea, black tea, ginger tea, and even warm lemon water. Caffeinated or decaffeinated coffee will also do. It makes no difference because the main ingredient in the Boomer Power tea, as in the Pippi Power Tea, is confidence.

Here are 5 criteria for Power Tea brewing

1. Pick your best tea time; five am or five pm. Five am works best for me, but anytime is a good time. Creating a steady routine is what matters because we need a consistent confidence refill. Be mindful, be where you are.
2. Enjoy your brew in your best China and count your blessings. Like me, you might need a journal to keep track. Believe that the aging process can be a freaky mess, but you trust in the process that the Universe has your back.
3. Understand that like Pippi, you are a unique human being. You are different from the eight billion people that we share the earth with. No one will ever be quite like you. Treasure yourself, just the way you are. Seek other Boomers and share your attributes and company.
4. Know that you must take care of yourself. Be safe. Eat fruit and vegetables, get enough sleep, and engage in 30 minutes of daily physical activities. Dance, walk, swim, bike, and do what makes you happy. Learn and explore new activities. Spend some time outdoors.
5. Remember; we have a body, a mind, and a spirit. We need physical, mental, and social support for nourishment. The more confident we are, the stronger we become. This translates into better health and more happiness.

The Boomer years may not be easy; for some they are harder than for others. Celebrating ourselves, embracing life as is, and standing in our own light, are super lessons that I learned from Pippi Longstocking.

Believe in the magic that Pippi and Boomer Power Tea can make life spectacular, and that the best is yet to come. This is the best lesson of all.

Thank you.

. . .

🇳🇴Annelie Holmene Pelaez believes that everyone has an attribute to share with others. Promoting cardiovascular health and helping adults over age 65 is her contribution. When we don’t let age define us, but rather empower us to grow, we discover health and happiness are byproducts of who we are.

Annelie is the author of the book, Say Yes to A Better Life, available at Amazon.

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