Make it happen as a caregiver in the sandwich generation

Make it happen as a caregiver in the sandwich generation

Today, my husband had to take care of our two boys: a 5-year-old handsome little guy and a 14-week-old bag of cuteness. Although our daycare was closed for the holiday, skilled nursing facilities are open 24/7, holiday or not. So, I was needed back at the ranch.

This was the first time my husband had to care for two children all by himself. When I got home, the two boys were so happy everyone had eaten dinner and everyone had a bath. Yeah! He ended up becoming a fantastic caregiver. What a lovely treat for me.

My husband admitted the struggles of caring for the boys. There's a lot to deal with throughout the day. He had to constantly watch them. He had to constantly entertain them. He had to constantly protect them.

My husband thrives on order and planning. But this week he had to slam dunk his perfectly planned days into the trash can and just get into survival mode. Did he really think that these two boys were going to follow a set schedule? Welcome to my world, honey.

Maybe my caregiving skills are inborn; however, I did learn a lot from my mom. Mom worked full-time helping Dad with their business and she raised five children on her own. Every night dinner was on the table and we were the cleanest kids on the block. My mom made it happen.

At my job, I closely work with caregivers. These Certified Nursing Assistants (CNAs) work hard to care for seniors and they are often underappreciated. From them, I learned that patience is of the essence. Caregivers must be understanding, never take anything personally, know how to juggle multiple demands, and expect crazy things to happen. Then, they have to just roll with it.

I need to remind myself of these obvious traits, but it's so hard when it gets personal. I'm faced with caring for my own children and my aging parents at the same time. This is what is known as living in the sandwich generation. As soon as you realize that you're a member of this generation, you're signing a secret contract that states you must change your middle name to "caregiver".

Did you know that 91% of care for the frail elderly is provided by family members and other informal sources?

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