The Sandwich Generation Squeeze

My mother is back in the hospital for the third time in a month and a half; I have health issues, minor ones thank goodness, that I must address now; and I’m scheduled to babysit our five year old granddaughter in about a week. Taking one day at a time, doing some deep breathing, reading snatches of a book purely for escapism, getting some exercise and trying to get enough rest is all I can do for now. I don’t know when my responsibilities will collide, but I can’t worry about it for now.
I will say that I am one of the lucky members of this sandwich generation. I do have a sister who is very instrumental in taking care of our mother. On one occasion, my husband and I were traveling a great distance to take care of his father, when Mother had to go into the hospital. Sis took care of that situation. She and I try to coordinate our schedules so that Mother is taken care of by one of us. But we do have a couple of family members and a friend we can call upon for a very short term backup if we are desperate enough.
Sis and I have to be prepared for the inevitable. After all, Mother is 88 ½ years old and in poor health. Fortunately Sis and I have already agreed on most of the major details but we have to write our plans down. It is very difficult to think of everything while under stress. With just the two of us and our children handling everything, we won’t have any conflicts to handle. Everything worked out beautifully when we had to handle our father’s services.
I also have a husband who is more than willing to take over the babysitting duties if I am unable to do so myself. Once he had to babysit for a couple of days by himself because I had a health issue to resolve. He did a great job, but he was worn out. And our granddaughter was thrilled because her grandfather was in charge. Of course, she was. She can get away with a few things with him.
Being part of the Sandwich Generation can be daunting at times. But there are many blessings. We've enjoyed the times that our four generations have been in the same place at the same time. And we treasure the numerous precious pictures that prove it.