Sound like you? Me, neither. Our generation has the largest debt load, was hit worse than other generations in the housing crisis (we were coming of age to buy when the market was at its peak), and have seen our job growth slow to a dead stop because the economy is keeping more Boomers in the job force than they had hoped. According to some sources, we?re 15 years behind where our parents were at our age, and we may not be able to catch up.
Here?s another thing that we need to get ready for: being the new ?Sandwich Generation.? Many of us started our own families a little later than our own parents, and so we have young children. Our parents are Boomers and the group that is slightly older than Boomers, and they?re really aging ? another fact you may not want to face.? I know I didn?t, when suddenly my husband and I had to.
Last fall, my father-in-law, Bill, fell off his back porch. He and my mother-in-law, Donna, live about 150 miles from us in western Wisconsin. They are both in their 70s and retired, although Donna works part time as a school lunch lady. They like to travel, and drive to Minneapolis to visit us and to southern Iowa to visit other family members whenever possible. Bill has had some medical issues over the past decade, including diabetes and receiving a pacemaker.
Unfortunately, Bill was home alone when he fell. He broke several ribs, punctured his lung and scraped up his leg pretty badly. Fortunately, he was able to reach his cell phone to call an ambulance. Following the fall, Bill was in and out of the hospital and a nursing home for a couple of months, dealing with complications from a skin graft.
Meanwhile, my husband and I were sitting at home, feeling a little helpless and completely unsure of what to do next. We had so many questions ? was their home safe enough for the two of them? If not, how could we help them do repairs and upkeep when we ourselves are still in a paycheck-to-paycheck situation, paying off student loans as well as childcare, dance and swimming lessons? If Bill couldn?t go home, where would he go? And how would Bill and Donna pay for it? Did Bill and Donna have a plan? And ? the biggest question of all ? how do we talk to them about all of this?
Lucky for us, I am a volunteer board member of DARTS, a Dakota-county nonprofit organization that ?connects people to services and partnerships that improve their quality of life, help them age well, and enable them to engage in their community.? I knew where to go with my questions, and in turn learned of a great resource that I feel is important to share with others who may be as unprepared as my husband and I were: the Eldercare Partners network.
The Eldercare Partners network is a collaboration between DARTS and two other Twin Cities-based nonprofit organizations, Senior Community Services and Amherst H. Wilder Foundation, that helps caregivers by preparing them to assume to the day-to-day challenges of managing and attending to the basic needs of older adults. Eldercare Partners provides assessments, education, resources, and professional services to help caregivers deal with their new role and understand how best to help their care recipients.
Chances are, you?re going to be in a similar situation someday: in Minnesota, family and friends provide 92% of senior long-term care. Eldercare Partners is a great resource for people ? yes, including Gen Xers ? who suddenly, inevitably, have to face being sandwich filling.
After all of our worrying, my father-in-law is on the mend, back at home, and already taking short trips out of town. Although we didn?t need Eldercare Partners this time, I?m happy to know about this incredible resource that I can tap into, to help us navigate through our inevitable future as caregivers.
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Source: http://www.leadershipandcommunity.com/2013/02/11/gen-x-are-you-ready-to-be-the-sandwich-filling/
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