Sandwiched Baby Boomer Sticking Together

At least there are a lot of us! Thanks, friends at the blog Nourishing Relationships, for sharing your comments about my blog:

I want to applaud you on your terrific posts about the Sandwich Generation. Your storytelling, blending professional wisdom and personal humor, is charming - a refreshing and informative read for those struggling with the challenges of a family in flux.

I've been googling a few new contacts and read so much negative press about just about every company out there that it feels good to read nice, positive comments!


Here are just a few other comments from recent news items or posts that struck me as interesting:

I was not ready for my energy to be sapped by giving dating advice to both my daughter and my mother at the same time. (By Susan Brooks-Thoman, on the Victoria Habelrih blog).

That comment made me smile - and made me just a little nervous about my own newly widowed mom (and my three unmarried daughters...will this be me someday?)

Tim from Michigan emailed me:

I have searched low and high and have yet to find info specifically for the male caregiver. I guess I'm in a very small minority or maybe it's just that most men won't or can't share their experiences.

While Tim IS in the minority, he's not alone. The Caregiver Resource Center in Kalamazoo, MI, provides a much needed service to all caregivers, young and old, male and female, according to a recent article in the Kalamazoo Gazette. Director Colleen Simpson comments,

...more and more men are taking on the role of caregiver, and teens and preteens caring for the needs of an elderly relative while their parents work are also on the rise.

The center provides education resources as well as support for caregivers.

While there's no doubt more and more of us are assuming caregiving roles, at the same time it is comforting to know that we are not alone. In fact more resources exist now than at any previous time in history to support family caregivers.

So from that perspective, it's a great time to be a sandwiched boomer!