Patti Kleist, a former “sandwicher,” a longtime advocate for the elderly and the disabled and executive director of nonprofit Faith in Action in Belfair, Wash., answered a few questions for the Sandwiched In. Do you have questions you’d like to have experts answer? Contact me and I will get answers in future interviews. Q: Americans [...]
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An article today in The Telegraph (UK) titled “Fourtysomething: the new midlife crisis” caught my attention because lately I’ve been contemplating the idea of getting old. When you’re sandwiched in, aging is a bit of a peculiar feeling because not only do you have your children reminding you that you are getting old, your aging [...]
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When we are kids, we are used to our parents making many major decisions for us (depending on age and circumstances) and we trust their judgment to decide what’s best. As adults, we get the privilege of making our bed and sleeping in it, as the saying goes. But when you’re a caregiver for a parent [...]
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One of the things caretakers are very skilled at — and women are much better at this — is feeling guilty. As a full-time working parent, every time your child does something that makes you less than proud, you feel guilty about not having spent more time with him and less time working etc. If [...]
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I was about 12 when I attended my first funeral. My grandpa died of heart disease, and despite being an agnostic, he was sent off in full Orthodox tradition. I don’t remember much except the hours-long procession on foot, in the dead of winter, from my grandparents’ home to the cemetery through the village. And [...]
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The majority of the sandwich generation is comprised of adults between ages of 28 and 42, though many are in the 40- to 60-years-old demographic. People who no longer have living parents, or those who don’t have kids, may think the challenges faced by adults in the middle don’t affect them — after all, caregiving [...]
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Cheese is not on my “must have” list when I make a sandwich (though I will take feta sprinkled on a salad over dressing any day). But when you are the pastrami in the sandwich generation like I am, not only do you not skip the cheese, you can forget all about a happy sandwich [...]
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Posted in caregiving, challenges, expert Q&A on Nov 11th, 2011
Debra Jamerson, a Washington state registered nurse and longtime advocate for the elderly, answered a few questions about caregiving for the Sandwiched In. Do you have questions you’d like to have experts answer? Contact me and I will get answers in future interviews. Q: What are the biggest challenges you hear about that adults face [...]
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Posted in 10 commandments, sandwiched in on Nov 10th, 2011
What’s the worst thing you could ask a man to sacrifice for the good of the family — something that offends his manly appearance and rubs it in every time he, say, goes for a drive? My husband swore he would never drive a mini-van. Mini-van and driving did not belong in one sentence, unless your lips were [...]
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