Aging Parents & the Sandwich Generation

Since I’ve been blogging about my journey with aging parents, I keep reading more and more about the Sandwich Generation. I actually had no idea what the Sandwich Generation was and did wonder if it was about different types of sandwiches. I know, LMAO. Well, now that I know, I find myself saying this is about “ME.” Like literally the words in most of the articles I read jumped out at me and said “This is you” dealing with your aging parents.

There are so many different categories of people in today’s time and certainly a million different “generations”, but having learned about the Sandwich Generation made me suddenly realize I was in one of those categories. I really never thought about myself in one. Have you? Have you wondered what your category is? Are you a millenium? A Gen X? What does that really mean and who took the time to summarize the enormous list of adjectives that describe such people?

As it to relates to children taking care of their aging parents, the Sandwich Generation is defined by Google as “those adults with at least one living parent age 65 or older and who are either raising a child younger than 18 or providing financial support (either primary support or some support in the past year) to a grown child age 18 or older.” Is this you? Are you raising a child while tending to an aging parent?

Another source, Investopedia, defines the Sandwich Generation as “middle-aged adults (often in their 40s and 50s) who are caring for both elderly parents and their own children.” This is usually the time frame in which parents are at the craziest, busiest time with their kids. From sports to dance, to getting them ready for college, parents go through lots of hustle and bustle tending to their kids. Schedules are packed Monday through Friday with endless carpools to and from all activities. Having to think about their immediate family is quite hard, then tack on stuff going on with their aging parents and it’s a full plate.

Does this sound like you? Are you struggling with managing your own home while making sure your aging parents have everything they need? Stick with me while we navigate this journey of aging parents. There is no secret potion that makes it easier, you just have to stay positive, stay focused and remember to take care of you as hard as that might be.