The Sandwich Generation

They call us the sandwich generation. We are the caretakers of parents, children, husbands, and (for some) grandchildren or grandparents.

We are pulled like a Gumby doll—stretched in too many opposing directions.

We are the family firefighters—the peacemakers---the organizers.

We are so consumed with doing that we forget about being.

It can be tired and lonely business at the top of the food chain. The nightly 3 am wakeup call brings physical as well as mental sweats.

Yet while there is no profession more challenging, there is no career with greater reward. Joy sits with the sorrow, calm walks beside the turmoil, vigor resides along the fatigue. And being a daughter, a mother, a wife, and for some a grandmother or granddaughter is a multiple grant—with unique dividends in each investment--- a greater opportunity for our own growth--even when our well is sucked dry.

Because as my father would say it beats the alternative—it beats the absence of it all. We are gifted here for the ride—traffic and all. Which is what I am reminding myself of in the quiet of this morning, as my accounts lie still, the market is not yet opened, and my coffee remains warm.