GatewayRedbirds.com

I'd heard the term before a few years ago, but wasn't sure if it was a thing. Brothers and sisters, let me tell you, it is a thing.

https://www.pewsocialtrends.org/2013/01 ... eneration/

Nearly half (47%) of adults in their 40s and 50s have a parent age 65 or older and are either raising a young child or financially supporting a grown child (age 18 or older).

My generation (now hitting their 40s) had kids later in life - say, 35 rather than 23. As a result, we're now taking care of our aging 70+ year old parents while also caring for small children. Mine are 8 and 5, and they need (and deserve!) a lot of our energy and attention. But my parents on both sides of our family have just had serious issues that also require a lot of our time and attention. Not to mention $. Always with the $, America.

Anyway, it's not easy.

i thought this was going to be about sandwiches

This is me, pretty much. My daughter's a junior in high school, and I'm preparing for her to go to college, but I'm also a care-provider and have power of attorney for my 90-year-old mother, who just finished a week in the hospital during the Christmas season. I'm her only immediate family member within a 1,000 miles, so everything falls to me, from bill paying, legal matters, visits, and even laundry. I have eight years of experience removing feces stains from clothing and trying to figure out how to cajole my mother to go to a doctor or let me brush her teeth. I've been watching slow-motion death for almost a decade. I just get worn out.

You're doing the hard work, Sigh. I have no doubt you're an excellent son and an excellent father. I completely get how hard you're working and how hard it feels to have the energy to do it all, though.

Is the point that there's an unusual number of these people right now? It seems like this happens to almost everyone who has kids

Jocephus wrote:i thought this was going to be about sandwiches

I did too. ha

AWvsCBsteeeerike3 wrote:

Jocephus wrote:i thought this was going to be about sandwiches

I did too. ha

Same

It's a hard knock life Zeus.

obucard wrote:

OK, that was pretty funny.