Reflecting on my current stage of life I find myself feeling a bit overwhelmed with day to day duties at times. I am attempting to embrace the “sandwich generation” which puts me in the position of caretaking elderly parents and spending moments with grandchildren.

Dear Neighbor, 

Reflecting on my current stage of life I find myself feeling a bit overwhelmed with day to day duties at times. I am attempting to embrace the “sandwich generation” which puts me in the position of caretaking elderly parents and spending moments with grandchildren. I frequently want more quality time with both, but scheduled doctor appointments and the business of daily chores becomes the focal point of most of our time together. Often I forget to put on my oxygen mask before leaping into my obligations. Sometimes that mask is my only choice. 

Last week, however, I made it a point to share a quality evening with my grands and the next day, quality time with my folks. Finding time to prioritize  the special things I wanted to share with my grandchildren AND my parents was a win, win! 

Saturday I made a point to share the Salisbury Symphony’s, “Postcards Across America”, at Livingstone with my grands. That event was such a pleasant one and a great introduction to our symphony. The program included the Youth Orchestra and the Elementary Honors Youth Chorus. It was an outstanding program! My granddaughter mentioned that she thought it would be difficult to get all those instruments to sound good together as they were tuning up. When they began to play the first piece, she sat on the edge of her seat and smiled at me and gave the thumbs up. My nine year old grandson was taking everything in and seemed to be somewhat in awe of the musical talent. 

The following day friends joined me at my parents’ home to play music. My friends and I had planned a few tunes I knew my parents would enjoy – and enjoy they did! It was so delightful to see them tapping their feet and clapping along. The best part of the day was when we sang mom’s request,“You Are My Sunshine”. Upon ending the song dad shared two more verses we had never heard before. What a truly unexpected pleasure to hear them sing verses of old time songs that were new to us and the sweet reminder of how music can connect all ages.

It was a joyous weekend and a lesson in balance for me. It is important to spend precious moments with the people we love. Today I am truly grateful to be in the sandwich generation where I have the opportunity to enjoy both sides of the sandwich when I allow myself the gift of time well spent.

“Dear Neighbor” authors are united in a belief that civility and passion can coexist. We believe curiosity and conversation make us a better community.