It’s a rainy, blustery day in Autumn today. How about you? I just came from my church where I picked up duplicate copies of each of my grandkids’ Awanas books to keep at my house. That way I can help them learn their verses each week without having to send the books back and forth. Yes, it’s a little more expensive that way but I love doing it. It saves on the stress load when one of us is taking the kids to Awanas and the other of us has the books! With all the stress in a Sandwich Generation Senior Home Care Giver and Grandparent’s life, we definitely don’t need more. True?

I was thinking about what a blessing all sorts of duplicates can be for us – both for our grandkids AND for our aging parents.

For my grandkids, I’ve routinely keep on hand:

• Diapers, Pull-ups, Good-nites (my all-time favorite night-time pull-up), and Swim Diapers
• Bottles, Sippy Cups, and other special equipment they’ve needed over the years. Also, specialized medical equipment/medications for special needs and/or emergencies, such as feeding bags, allergy kits, etc.
• Formula, favorite foods, non-perishable lunch box items, and easy freezable breakfast items
• Medications – did you know you can ask the pharmacist to split liquid medications into two bottles to make it easy to store some at each house? It’s very handy!

For aging parents with special needs such as those requiring dementia care, walking assistance, etc., many of us in the Sandwich Generation may only be helping part-time to give our parent’s spouse or other full-time caregiver a much-needed break. Some items that can help in that situation include:

• Incontinence pads such as Depends, Poise Pads, etc.
• A walking cane, a transport wheelchair, etc. This can make it easier for the caregiver to bring your senior parent back and forth so they don’t have to load up the car as much.
• Specialized medical equipment for special needs and/or emergencies, such as feeding bags, bedpans, etc.
• Special and/or favorite foods such as Ensure
• Medications

As the commercial likes to say:

Extra supplies for grandkids and/or aging parents  = $xx

Storage = Does take room to store

Stress relief = PRICELESS

Caregiving is highlighted by special moments. Whether you are caring for an elderly loved one, a sweet grandchild, a dear friend who is ill, or in the case of those of us of the Sandwich Generation, two or more of these, you may find periods of your life when you have long stretches of mundane, frustrating, irritating, and/or boring punctuated by wondrous, special, illuminated moments.

Both young and old may require assistance with diapers or depends and all the sights and smells that go with that. Both young and old are susceptible to crankiness due to illness, medication, lack of sleep, not feeling well. Both young and old, depending on their health situation, can require frantic trips in an ambulance or car to get to the hospital, then long stretches sitting and waiting to be seen, with even longer stretches of time in the hospital until they are released.

And you, the caregiver, will be right there with them through all of these situations. Often you are also tired, cranky, not feeling well, and scared. But you are the one who has to be strong for them, that they may draw from your strength. You are the one who has to stay calm, focused, clearheaded as you fill out the paperwork, answer all the questions, and make the hard decisions.

It’s not easy! I personally think it is one of the hardest jobs in the world – and usually unpaid. But it can also be one of the most rewarding, with special thanks to those highlighted moments in time!

• Those moments when a grandchild calls you on the phone to share something exciting that just happened.
• Those moments when an elderly loved one’s medicine change finally kicks in, she finally recognizes you and, instead of getting mad at you for trying to help her, she can again say, “I love you.”
• Those moments when the nurse says to you, “You are doing such a great job. Your great-aunt tells me all the time that she doesn’t know what she would do without you.
• Those moments when your son tells you, “Thank you so much for your prayers, mom. The baby’s fever is down to normal and they can send her home from the hospital tomorrow.
• Those moments when your adorable grandchild, who threw up on you earlier in the evening, gives you a big hug and kiss and says, “I wuv you, Grandma.”
• Those moments when God reminds you that you are doing this for Him and He will get you through it all.

As we keep walking through the tough times, and are blessed by the sweet times, let’s cling to God, and walk in His love, His light, and His gifts of these moments of joy.

For You have been my help, And in the shadow of Your wings I sing for joy. My soul clings to You; Your right hand upholds me. Psalm 63:7-8