People of my age will find ourselves in the position of still caring for children who never want to leave home and at the same time having parents who are aging and will need more help.
I see it as a bit like a game of piggy in the middle where we are the pig.
Of course as these young men at South Bank this afternoon showed, being piggy in the middle is not always all bad. In fact, it's one of those old games that never runs out of steam especially if you add water.
But in life outside the water being in the middle also means we have both a parent or parents and soon-to-be-adult children to look after our interests.
I guess the fact is that the more people playing the same game, the less likely that we are really going to drop the ball.
It also means that the is someone who can help you extend your reach.
Problem is there is also the danger of being swamped and as luck will have it, a dropped sandwich always seems to land jam side down. Life's like that.
To continue the sandwich analogy for just a minute I will end with one of my favourite quotes: "Life is life a shit sandwich. The more bread you've got the less shit you each" How true that is.
I am in that piggy in the middle phase too, but I am determined to keep both the kids and the parents as independent as I can, being there for them all doesn't mean letting them drag you down, make sure you find some space for you too.
ReplyDeleteI'm a bit more shredded wheat than sandwich at the minute, life really can throw a few curve balls!
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