Oh, The Web I Weave

I feel more like a spider than a sandwich, I thought as I hung up from a futile phone call with my 90-year-old mother who has recently been diagnosed with early Alzheimer's. Her physician has instructed her to take her blood pressure every day to monitor her rising level, and once again she has forgotten to go downstairs to the nurse who is available five days a week in her independent living building.

I'm a Sandwich Generationer, someone with an aging parent who requires my assistance and teenage children at home who need my oversight. It's all good, but I need to build a support web to manage it all. My mom has doctors' appointments; I can schedule those on the weekend (check), a driver assessment, my sister-in-law can take her (check), the boys need to get their senior pictures taken (weekend, check), a doctor's appointment (leave work early, check), an appointment with mom's financial advisor (evening, check); the checklist goes on and on and the support web I weave is sturdy yet fragile.


My husband is my back-up, always ready to jump in and repair a broken thread. So far, somehow, it has all worked. Those of you who have figured this out or have ideas to help manage it all, please pass them along. In the meantime, this spider will keep spinning.

This blog entry was written by Margaret Adrain, Arbor Hospice Vice President of Marketing and Business Development. You can contact Margaret by commenting below or emailing her at madrain@arborhospice.org.