Sandwich What?

*** This is a little bit of a shorter post tonight. We had a busy day today at church and with the kids. Sorry in advance.

My mom has Parkinson’s disease. I have small children I have to take care of. I also happen to be the only family my mom has in town. So, that leaves me to be the one to pick up the responsibility of her care as her disease progresses.

It is expected that you have to care for your children. It is many time even expected that you will one day be responsible for your parent’s care. Not many people end up taking care of both their parents and their own children at the same time. Those who do are lumped under the umbrella name of “Sandwich Generation”. Basically we are sandwiched between care for our parents and care for our children.

Typically, people in the sandwich generation are in their late 30’s or 40’s and are caring for teen agers and getting kids through college. My situation is unique in that my kids are still under the age of five. My mom is also quite a bit younger than the typical elderly parent needing care. She is disabled. My daughter is also disabled and my son has unique needs that require unique care as well. It is definitely not your average sandwich. I will have many years full of doctors, therapists, and medications ahead of me.

This isn’t something that I am bitter about or anything. It is just the reality of my life. While I hate watching my mom get to the point of needing help, I am glad I am able to help her out as much as I am able to. We may not get along all the time, what mother daughter pair do, but we are there for each other when we can be and I will always be there for my mom.

I am still learning what all it means to be in the Sandwich Generation but I would like to share my journey down this road every Sunday. Follow along as I come to and tackle every obstacle that gets thrown in my path.