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Jul
07
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 I have come to the conclusion that my current life stage could be titled, “Juggling for Dummies” or “The Idiot’s Guide to Managing Life in the Sandwich Generation.” | |||
Blog Posts by Kathy Pride
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Apr
29
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Tough love got a bit tougher for our family this week. So never say, “It can’t get any worse.” Sorry to disappoint you, but it can. But despite this thought, as long as we are still upright, there is always hope. It’s possible to get stuck in the inertia of paralysis, but hope is still the necessary ingredient to taking the first step forward. I don’t want to go into too many sordid details, but let’s just say our older son is really on the crash and burn. We see it; he does not. | |||
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Apr
01
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I am in a funk. I am sure I am not the only one, and the fact that the rain outside my window temporarily turned to snow didn’t help matters any. But at the moment I am very tired of parenting. Even the kitsch sign hanging from my computer from Crab Country in Maryland, which simply states, “The Crab is In” doesn’t do my mood justice. Read more » | |||
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Mar
11
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Despite loving a good snow storm that shuts everything down, I have now joined the group of Northeast dwelling sufferers of SAD — Seasonal Affective Disorder. It is simply too white and gray out there. One snow day was perfect; the added bonus of many, a tad bit too much. When offered the choice of “fight” or “flight” recently, I didn’t even have to think about it – I resolved to get out of town as soon as I could. Either that or dig a hole like the one that Punxsatawney Phil, the groundhog, lives in and retreats for another several weeks. Both pose problems, however, namely the fact that as moms or caretakers it means we will now need to oversee and supervise (micro-manage?) from remote locations. But thanks to cell phones and computers, this is all just a button away. | |||
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Feb
10
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I have officially entered the sandwich generation, a member of the boomer generation blessed with the dubious distinction of simultaneously caring for an aging parent while still having children at home in need of parental assistance with homework. My sandwich is also a club sandwich with a layer of adult children as well. Does that mean I can request that it be gourmet instead of bologna slapped on white with a piece of American added for good measure? Please? Please can I make it gourmet, otherwise I might not make it…fifth grade homework and new math are killing me, teenage girl drama is still painful second hand, online gambling and overdrawn bank accounts, a son finally negotiating his way but it took a DUI to get him to that point, and now my mom providing the top layer. | |||
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Nov
27
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I recently had one of the best weekends of my life. Among other things I drove several miles, attended a cheerleading competition (our first – my daughter’s as a competitor, and mine as a spectator mom…of the quiet variety) consumed way too many unhealthy calories and was hostess to thirty-five Consider that the alternative was a gratis stay at Disney’s Grand Floridian resort with my husband and daughters for the weekend and you will surely question my sanity. | |||
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Oct
30
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I have often quipped that middle-aged women and their twenty-something year-old kids don’t belong under the same roof, but the reality of this statement hit home this summer when our son moved back home temporarily. | |||
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Jul
10
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I have often mused that if there was a recovery group for control freaks, I would be its fearless leader. “Hi, I’m Kathy, and I’m a control freak.” National, International or Galactic, I could lead them all. Because I was in charge of the world — or at least the small cosmos of my family — micro-managing down to the most minute detail. Until that bubble burst and I realized I could control nothing other than myself, my own decisions and my own reactions. That day a new world opened up for me, although I readily admit that every so often I slip through a trap door to that former place. It was our son’s substance abuse and the realization that I couldn’t fix it or “make him stop” that did it. I realized I could only control my own reactions– which I have learned is most effective when the approach of getting out of the way and allowing natural consequences to take place is also followed. | |||
