Monday, March 5, 2012

The Sandwich Generation

Last night I was talking to my best friend about one of our classmates who seems to have a wonderful life, everything seems perfect.  As I have observed to Silvia in the past I believe that we all have a rollercoaster life with good times and bad so when we wonder why someone seems to “have it all” we really are only seeing things on the surface.  We don’t know the history of the person and what is behind close doors.  All we have to do is look at some of the celebrity autobiographies where our adored Marcia Brady and Laura Ingalls are recovering addicts or alcoholics!  Who would think someone who seemingly has it all would spiral out of control?
       Granted celebrity isn’t a good measure of what we ordinary mortals experience, except that they too are mortal with flaws and will experience bumps in the road from working to relationships.  What I am saying is, don’t bemoan the fact that you are going through tough times but instead celebrate the fact that you are able to get through the tough times because you are made of good fibre.  I was reading a few articles on The Sandwich Generation and the statistics are quite high as to how many people will be caring for both their parents and their children at the same time.  In Canada it’s 30%.  Then there are those who may not be caring for their children but are caring for their elderly parents.
       This isn’t a new phenomena, it’s just being written about in these last few years, perhaps because we are an aware generation or a complaining generation.  For Silvia and I it is relatively new because we are immigrant children whose parents came to Canada alone.  We did not observe what was happening with our grandparents and our aunts or uncles so our toolbox is fairly limited when it comes to knowing exactly how to handle situations.  But somehow we are figuring it out and as Silvia said we need to find our inner power.
       Digging deep within me.

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