The S’Mores Stage of Life
Hi Friends ~
Likely you’ve heard the term ‘sandwich generation’. Dorothy Miller and Elaine Brody coined this term in 1981 to describe “midlife adults facing the demands of providing emotional, instrumental, and financial support to both adult children and their aging parents.”
As my clinical work has grown these last few years, the fastest-growing subset of people I work with are the adult children of aging loved ones. I rarely use the word ‘geriatric’ to describe my evolving scope of practice. Yes, I work with older adults coping with diagnoses and life transitions; however, the majority of conversations I’m in are with family members who are impacted by age-related changes: spouse or healthy care partner, adult children, and young adult grandchildren.
This probably explains the variations I’ve seen to describe the sandwich generation, such as panini and kebab, referencing the multi-layered generations stacked to provide care between and among each other.
And then today, it occurred to me, I’m a s’more:
The sweet yet just-firm-enough graham crackers holding everything together represent the grandparents.
The delightful chocolate in the middle represents the special treat of children or grandchildren.
The marshmallow represents the adults in the messy middle, squished in between and sticking to everything.
I find myself in the humble and grateful space of being a child of aging parents, a parent of growing children, and most recently, a newly crowned grandparent.
I’m confident everyone, regardless of any particular role, has felt like part of a s’more at some point in life.
Perhaps because it’s summertime, the metaphor of being a s’more came to mind. June also marks my birthday month, so it’s no wonder I’m feeling especially reflective about my place in life…and the sweet treats I like to eat along the way.
In sweetness,
_____
Classes Are Ongoing!
Gentle Yoga with Cindy ~ Gentle Yet Strong Yoga with Jen ~ Chair Yoga with Lindsay
