The Sandwich Parent

Yes, I have become my father's parent and will always be my children's parent. I have heard about the Sandwich Parent - and now I am living it! No I am not talking about preparing a "roasted turkey, provolone, hold the mayo on sourdough" sandwich. I am talking about picking up where your parent has stopped thinking and doing for themselves. I am talking about the joy in a young teen-age daughter that has discovered boys. Yes these are the two slices of life's sandwich that I will be managing for a while. It's strange how things suddenly change - as Sheldon would say "Bazinga!"

The early signs of dementia have now advanced into a more serious condition and my father's diagnosis has a name: Binswanger's Disease. This disease is also known as subcortical vascular dementia. I found The Dementias: Hope Through Research website helpful. Basically, my father has erratic behavior and a severe case of forgetfulness. But he also has normal and clear thinking days. To help him with his confusion, I immediately purchased a very large Alzheimer's clock that showcases the month, date, day and time. It is battery operated and my father is quite pleased that he can move it room to room and never be without this information.

Now on the opposite side of my sandwich is my 13 year old daughter's giddy and giggly world of discovering boys. Her recent boy crush has already invaded my wallet with the cost overages of text messages. To my daughter's delight, an immediate change to our family cell phone plan was done. In her world there is less worry about usage and more laughter about texting privileges.

I want to thank you for reading my blog and any advice you would like to share would be appreciated. It was a satisfying week one of Sandwich Parenting.