By Shannon Williams
While most of us think of a sandwich as something to eat, sandwich is also a verb. It means to “insert or squeeze (someone or something) between two other people or things, typically in a restricted space or so to be uncomfortable”. The sandwich generation is the term used for when you are lucky enough to have several generations of family in your life and they all need some time and attention from you. I am so blessed to have a 93-year-old mother, 3 kids or step kids in their late 20’s and early 30’s, a grandchild who is six and another one on the way!!! And that does not include the husband and employees!!!

I had a real sandwich week, this past week. Again, I see this as a blessing as so many people I know would love to have any one of these people in their life!

I had a quilt made for the bundle of joy to arrive in December, but was unable to attend the shower. So my step wife dropped it off (another person who blesses my life). I made sure to send the favorite family baby book ( CHIC CHIC BOOM BOOM ). So, then it was off to Houston, to pick up my son and his wife. He was supposed to get into Bush airport at midnight; I was concerned about trying to drive back that late, so decided just to get a room for him and his wife and I would come Saturday am. Well, I ended up having to work in Houston on Friday, so I just went to the hotel. It was a good thing as the transportation from the hotel ended at 11 pm. Their plane was late and I mean very late. It was 2 am before they arrived. I was 3 minutes away and had ordered pizza and had cold beers waiting for them. We were all glad that we only had a short drive and a bed to lay our heads down on!!!

We returned to the beach Saturday and had a few great days, cooking, eating, and driving the golf cart on the beach. To have my son and his wife here, sitting on my porch in the evening, just filled my heart!! Paul needed to go see about his elder aunt and set up his deer stand for the big December hunt in Kansas, so I just fixed all of my son’s favorite meals, and we both love cooking and eating together. His wife is a high school guidance counselor and she loved just sitting on the porch and reading! We watched baseball and visited with a great deal of laughing.

We then, headed out to West Texas to finish up moving his father and paternal grandmother’s belongings out to Northern California where my son lives. We stopped in Central Texas to eat good BBQ and to see his Godmother, again, more good food and visiting. In West Texas, we ate Mexican food three meals a day. We both miss our West Texas Tex- Mex and got our fill on this trip. I worked a few days at my sites in West Texas and it was off to the panhandle to see my mom.

While my mother claims not to have any favorites, my son is her favorite grandchild, and I think that is because she was such a part of his life when he was growing up. They share a special bond and don’t get to see each other very often. It was great to see them together and watch him gently walk mom up and down the hallway for her daily exercise. We were also out there for my niece’s wedding shower. We picked out an outfit for mom and got her hair done, but when the big day came, she just felt that she did not have the energy to attend. My mother is in the mid stages of dementia, we are lucky she remembers us, but she was convinced that she was not invited to the shower as she did not get an invitation in the mail (these days it is all done by email by those young folks, LOL). They took a printed invitation to her, but she had it in her head that she was not invited and in the end dementia won (more to come later on loving someone with dementia). It was a lovely shower and mom was missed, but life goes on.

The U-haul was loaded up and after a great visit with two of his aunts and an uncle (who just happen to be my brother and sisters), it was time to say goodbye to my son. I don’t cry out loud anymore, but it breaks my heart each time we leave each other. But not to fear we talk every day!

I had a brief stop in DFW area to spend the night with my college roommate and we stayed up all night eating Chinese food and watching net flicks, and that is just a whole lot of fun with a longtime friend. I drove back and stopped in Conroe to see my older brother who is in rehab due to some surgery, so in one week, I got to see all four of my siblings, a very rare thing indeed.

As I returned home, we have a busy week, as Paul will go stay with grandson to get him on the school bus while his mom is out of town. I am following up on care for my mother and doing research into new programs and options for her. Not to mention wash, my garden, and the house!!!

So the I feel like I was in sandwich and was sandwiched most of the week, but it was the best sandwich as it was a triple decker foot long sandwich filled with love.

[Oct-19-2021]