I am beginning to know first hand what the sandwich generation is all about. I am the second of four generations in my family, and my husband is the same in his. We are both dealing with aging parents, keeping the house and yard in almost respectable order, and doing the things we want to do (exercise, garden, cook, read, blog). Next week I have appointments with three doctors who have been involved in treating my cancer since the middle of December.
It could be worse; we don't worry where our next meal will come from, if the car will get us to work, or whether we can see a doctor. We have friends and siblings we can call in the middle of the night (and who will call us if we are needed).
Can I imagine how awful it would be without those things? I can try, but I don't think I can fully understand it. Knowing it first hand is scary.
With that thought, I am doing my part and telling the folks who represent me (I use that term loosely as I don't like the way they vote on most issues) to say that cutting Social Security, Veteran's benefits, along with Medicare and Medicaid aren't just decisions about money. Those are decisions about the very real issues of quality of life. I'm willing to spend a little more on taxes to make sure the senior citizens in my neighborhood don't worry about cutting pills in half, or that kids with asthma have an inhaler when they need it.
And if I can do it on my middle class income that isn't getting any bigger while costs go up, then it seems like the jumbo corporations making millions in profits could come off a little of their cash to help our too.
We have hard decisions to make in our country. We need to remember that we aren't just talking about thousands of people. We are talking about the guy whose cute kids, wearing pretty worn out clothes, beamed as they cleaned the windshield while he put gas in the tank at $3.60+ a gallon.
I'm doing my part. Are you?
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