Shifts and Changes

It turns out that the kid didn't just go off to Haiti without telling anyone. He just didn't tell us. He told his brother, and the two of them decided that we would worry and fret too much about it, so we were better off not knowing till he returned and his adventure was over.

I can remember making this same decision about informing our parents about events, but now there's been a change. We are moving from the generation that makes decisions to the generation that has decisions made for and about us. Not that we're not still in charge of our lives, but I realize that we're no longer the "sandwich generation," taking care of parents and children at the same time. Now the kids are sandwiched between us and the new baby. I'm not sure just how I feel about this, but mostly it's a big HA!!!

Although my parents have both died, I am still dealing with estate issues. I spent this morning getting numbers ready for taxes, but that burden is light compared to the responsibility of caring for my parents. My husband's parents died after years of lingering with lots of medical issues, and so did mine. I know too much about cancer, chemo, dementia, ERs, hard decisions.

Being at the top of the sandwich isn't so bad. We can do what we want, and we don't have to tell anyone, really, although we do let the kids know where we are, most of the time.

We went to Paris a few years ago and our return was delayed. as the plane hadn't come from Houston, we were offered either a trip to Newark or another night at a nice hotel at the airport. Tough decision, eh? Newark? Paris? Newark? Paris? We spent another night in France and flew home, changing planes in Houston, the following day. The kids were so upset! They'd tracked our original flight from Houston to home, and the plane had arrived. Where were we? What they hadn't done, of course, was to track that first flight from Paris to Houston. But they were upset that we'd been "lost." We thought it was funny.

So now we shift part of the burden of worry to our kids' shoulders. Of course, we still worry about them, and about the baby, that darling next generation. She can smile now, and almost always hold her head steady. She likes to look out the window, and she likes light. Her only decisions are about waking and eating and fussing if her diaper is uncomfortable. Nice to see another generation coming along to the bottom of the sandwich.