The Sandwich Generation by some definitions combined: is it simultaneously having your parents ignore disapprove of you and your kids ignore and be embarrassed by you? That is simply a fun way of seeing your space in time. No need to feel confused, this is happening.
Instead, the actual term was originally coined in 1981 and mainly referred to women in their 30s or 40s who cared for elderly family members while raising their own kids.
Fast forward 30 plus years and you know that quite a bit has changed since 1981. By definition, the Sandwich Generation provides support. In these times, we see families that are choosing to have our kids later and we are noticing our parents or seniors live longer. Today’s Sandwich Generation is older—predominately 40-60 and includes plenty of men.
We often see our children continuing to live in the lifestyle to which we have made them accustomed to without the means to provide it for themselves unless they live with us. There are any number of similar scenarios of this variation, and only one will be yours.
Some stats:
“According to the National Family Caregivers Association, more than 50 million Americans provide care for a chronically ill, disabled, or aged family member or friend during any given year, and that number is growing. Adult children are often first in line to care for their aging parents. But what if those adult children are still raising children of their own? This is the burgeoning challenge faced by an entire “Sandwich Generation” of family caregivers.
When added to the many responsibilities of their own daily lives, including work and raising their own family, caring for a loved one with declining health can be quite an undertaking. In addition to the physical and financial strain of “being everywhere at once,” Sandwich Generation caregivers bear a complicated emotional burden. The worry, pain, and sorrow they already feel over a parent’s illness are compounded by the demanding challenges of caregiving. Feelings of powerlessness and guilt are prevalent in family caregivers — for repeatedly having to “choose” one family need over another, for feeling that no choice can ever be the “right” one, and even for feeling they have no choice at all.
The challenges are real and daunting, and more families are facing them every day.”
But for everyone who is currently in it, even for a brief period of time, you can all agree that to some degree that time, money, and balance are in short supply.
If this is now becoming more of a long-term problem for you, if you feel unable to recognize yourself here, you feel more anger, resentment, guilt and stress than ever before in your life. Now is the time to figure out a plan to succeed and thrive despite the situation you find yourself in. Book now, I can help you get there.