taking care of parents

If 2012 has taught me anything – it’s taught me that I am a card-carrying member of the Sandwich generation. I’m living inside the sandwich. Tightly packed between extra toasted bread and melted cheese. In January, we began the massive process of cleaning out my mom’s house. She and my dad purchased the tri-level house in 1970 when they were first married and never moved. My dad passed away a few years ago and it is time for my mom to downsize and live in something with less maintenance and fewer stairs. The process has been exhausting. I’ve spent at least a day every weekend since January at my mom’s house sorting through rooms and rooms of stuff. She loves her stuff – it has so many memories of those who have passed on. We have sorted, we have donated, held garage sales, argued and slowl...