A different kind of sandwich
Sometimes I get stuck about what to write here. I enjoy doing it, and, I have lots to say, but, I am very aware that the topic of being in the Sandwich Generation can easily turn (and probably has more than once, here) turned into Introspective Angst-a-Palooza.
I can’t stand that kind of stuff.
Being in my situation isn’t all about the physical stress and strain of being a caregiver to two or three generations at the same time. Sometimes it’s mental stress, too!
Kidding. Mostly.
Anyway, tonight, as I was looking through a recipe box that belonged to my grandmother it occured to me that I am the middle of a “sandwich” that I hadn’t really thought much about until now.
My mother and my grandmother were both only children and they had a very close relationship. I have memories of my mother practicing traditions that my grandmother passed on to her. Combined with the fact that the South has lots of tradition, it’s safe to say that their generations had similar values and experiences and they were very much alike.
I came along at the end of the post-World War generations (I am the very last year of the Baby Boomers) and, by then, things had completely changed. I have memories of the traditions of those years gone by, but, I’m sure my mother and my grandmother are still lamenting the things that were “lost” with me.
I have a daughter of my own, and, the world is an entirely different place over again than it was for my mother and grandmother. For her, I am all that connects a generation completely gone by with the ones of today.
Mothers used to teach daughters about things like keeping a recipe box, using real silver and china at holiday mealsmixing a drink every afternoon at 5, making homemade mayonaise, dressing up when you travel, etc.
Granted, none of those things are life-changing if they aren’t passed down, it’s just that it occured to me that I am in the middle (”sandwiched” between) of two very distinct generations and whatever connection I want my daughter to have with those lives and times before us is up to me.
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POSTED IN: My Mother, Sandwich Dilemmas
1 opinion for A different kind of sandwich
Bluegrass Mama
Oct 31, 2006 at 11:11 am
China & silver at holidays: check!
Recipe box: check! (In fact, I have two, and my favorite recipes are the ones written in my mother’s hand with her comments on them).
Homemade mayonnaise: No way, I’m a Miracle Whip woman.
Dressing up to travel: LOL–I just make sure it’s an elastic waistband for long car rides and slip-on shoes for air travel (to make it easier to pass through security).
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