We have a friend who best described our generation much better than I ever could. She and her husband spend a lot of time caring for grandchildren as one, who is close in age to our grandtwins, has a severe gastric problem and is in and out of the hospital and requires them to watch the other grandkids. We are lucky the grandtwins have been relatively healthy but it still requires a certain time commitment on our parts. At the other end of the age spectrum we are becoming more and more involved with OUR parents' lives. I have spent several days this week traveling to Cheyenne and getting my mother's financial and health issues dealt with. Our friends have parents who are also ailing and needing their time.
She described us as the "sandwich generation" because our time is being squeezed by people at both ends of the age spectrum. We remember what our parents and grandparents did for us and our kids and it's time to pay back the debt.