There is a lot of chatter about the sandwich phase of life lately. Perhaps it is the age of my peer group, hot topics in the media, or my current situation. IDK but here we are, thanks for stopping by. I am a part of this sandwich phase only I am missing a few key ingredients. I am single, never married, no children. I was raised by a single, strong, independent lady who instilled good manners, excellent work ethic and kindness as she raised me in a time when single parenting and independent women were taboo.
So you see, I am missing the siblings ( I’ve never minded this, I’ve got an excellent chosen family and other onlies that are like my sibs and frankly going through similar challenges. ) and I am missing the children of my own ( also, I am a great auntie to friends kids but never wanted to have children of my own. They say it takes a village, a village raised me and I am happy to be a part of the village. )
Every mother/daughter relationship has its challenges. But when push comes to shove she is my mom and I will always be her kid, it doesn’t matter how old I am.
So you see. As a single lady of a certain age with no children of my own and an independent mother who has been flying solo her whole life ( well, as long as I’ve known her ) we’ve hit this sandwich phase everyones talking about but there is a limited safety net of resources both human and financial.
I think we need a new term for us onlines who are caregivers for our elders… let’s work on that.
Minding Mom. 