Getting ready to be sandwiched
My recently widowed Dad moves in this Friday. We've prepared the house: Chris has put in safety bars in the bathrooms and a bannister on the stoop. Right now he's installing a new sink with an easy-to-use faucet. We've cleared out the downstairs playroom and moved in a bed, a comfy reading chair, a smoke alarm. We're stocked up on Campbell's tomato soup and Kellogg's cornflakes.
We're prepared. But I'm not prepared. I'm not prepared.
Like many American workers—10 million of us, according to the Pew Research Center—I find myself the smoked turkey in a big ol' hoagie sandwich between an elderly parent and children. In recent years, employers have extended benefits aimed at helping us, like counseling and emergency caretakers. But I'm wondering what the current financial crisis is going to do to those generous benefits. More importantly, I'm worried that workers like me are going to be considered a liability—or, at least, simply not dedicated enough to cut it in this new, post-Lehman world.
Share your sandwich stories. Because I think I'm not scared enough.
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I'm wondering who my mom will live with when the inevitable happens. My mom is 72 and has cataracts, macular degeneration, and arthritis. She wants to live alone for as long as possible, but what happens if--when?--she goes blind? And my house is much smaller than yours, Lisa. It'll be tight. She could live with my brother, but he is easily annoyed by her old-lady complaining about these kids today and how today just doesn't compare to the '50s. And my mom refuses to move to Florida to live with my sister. Who knows what will happen?
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My sisters and brother and I are preparing for our parents. We recently went through the process of purchasing long term care insurance for them--realizing during the process that we should have done this years ago. Our dad is 68, so he is on Medicare. My mom is 60--no medical insurance and no private insurance will take her because she's diabetic. So, we're crossing our fingers that she will be healthy until 65...
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[...] child, but their parents might be moving in, too. Ten million American workers will find themselves sandwiched between elderly parents and kids, as Lisa Takeuchi Cullen points out at Time’s Work in [...]
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[...] child, but their parents might be moving in, too. Ten million American workers will find themselves sandwiched between elderly parents and kids, as Lisa Takeuchi Cullen points out at Time’s Work in [...]
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