It’s taken my father and me this long to get to some semblance of a normal routine since my mother’s death in July, and, his subsequent back problems, surgery and recovery.
For him, it’s really the first time in quite a long time that he can go out and do whatever he wants, whenever he wants, as toward the end, my mother couldn’t be left alone. Due to my duties as the Sandwich Generation Poster Child, I couldn’t always be there to give him a break in caregiving duties, so that meant that sometimes there were days he couldn’t leave the …read more

Though he’s not great at keeping in touch with them, my father has lots of friends.
Several of his friends from his previous career (before he became a teacher) are female, and, I’ve known them since I was a child. I’ve never really thought much about it.
He has lunch with this group a few times a year, and, the other day, one of the ladies called to set it up. I answered the phone, and, she identified herself, and, I handed the phone to him. Since I was in the next room, I heard part of the conversation and heard him …read more

Unlike my other endeavor which serves no apparent purpose other than to take up bandwidth and minutes of your life, GenBetween does have a higher purpose (besides being a place where I pour forth angst on a semi-regular basis).
In honor of the upcoming Carnival of the Mission Statement for b5 Media’s Family and Relationship Channel, I present to you GenBetween’s reason for being:
GenBetween.com explores the issues related to being part of the “Sandwich Generation” through firsthand experience, discussion and analysis of media coverge, in order to inform and support readers whose lives are touched simultaneously by aging and childhood.
As a …read more

So, my dad is going back to work today.
Seventy-four years old, less than 3 weeks out from a lumbar laminectomy and returning to work teaching high school. I’d say that’s pretty good.
The dog? Dunno. No worse, I suppose, but, when you’re 119 years old, it’s hard to tell.