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Every page on the desk, grouped by the section it lives in. New to the site? The suggested order is on start here.
- How many afternoons of help does Mom actually need?
Use your split week to size the afternoon window around the hours that truly collide, instead of guessing from guilt.2026-09-12 - Sandwich generation: how do I actually cope with both of them?
Sandwich generation how to cope is not a better attitude. It is a week on paper, a family meeting, an employer talk, a few hours of respite, and one hour that is yours, west St. Lo2026-09-11 - My marriage is suffering because I am caring for my mother
My marriage is suffering because of caring for my mother: show him the split week, give him one yellow cell, protect one hour that is the two of you, west St. Louis County, 2026.2026-09-11 - Is this sandwich generation burnout, or am I just tired?
This page is not a diagnosis. It is what tired looks like when the week cannot hold, and the order of fixes: sleep, one collision handed off, a family meeting, a doctor visit for y2026-09-11 - Is it too much to care for my mother and raise kids?
Is it too much to care for my mother and raise kids at the same time? Yes. One person cannot be the whole plan. Draw the week, hand off collisions, hire hours, west St. Louis Count2026-09-11 - I cannot be at my son's game and at Mom's doctor appointment
You pick the game. Someone else covers Mom's waiting room unless the visit is a conversation only you can have. Then you move the slot or take FMLA for that one, and you cover the 2026-09-11 - How much time does caring for an elderly parent take per week?
How much time does caring for an elderly parent take per week? There is no single parent number. Count your own week on two rows. Spouse figures and Medicare's 28-hour cap, 2026.2026-09-11 - How do working moms take care of aging parents
How do working moms take care of aging parents without quitting either job: four sources of hours, employer flex and FMLA, a family meeting, public doors in west St. Louis County, 2026-09-11 - How do I take care of Mom and the teenagers at the same time?
How do I take care of Mom and the teenagers at the same time? Three columns of jobs: yours, the teenagers', and hired hours. Bathing and medicines stay off the kids' column. Calend2026-09-11 - How do I take Mom to chemo and get my daughter to practice
Taking my mom to chemo and my daughter to practice: map the infusion day hour by hour, name who sits in the chair, name who does drop-off, and cover the hours after with an adult, 2026-09-11 - Guilt about not being there for my kids because of my mom
Guilt about not being there for my kids because of my mom: why the guilt runs both ways, what to say after a missed game, and one weekly hour with the kid's name on it, west St. Lo2026-09-11 - Should my teenager help take care of Grandma?
Should my teenager help take care of Grandma? Rides, company, tech help and dinner are fair. Bathing, medicines and being the only one home are not. Why hired help protects the gra2026-09-10 - My teenager is angry that I'm always at Grandma's
My teenager is angry that I'm always at Grandma's: why that is grief and a calendar rather than a discipline problem, what to say, and the one weekly hour that belongs on2026-09-10 - Moving Mom in with us with teenagers in the house
Moving Mom in with us with teenagers in the house: the first-floor room, the bathroom cited to the CDC and NIA, the noise and privacy rules, what Aging Ahead's caregiver progr2026-09-10 - In home care for Mom while I work, St. Louis County
In home care for Mom while I work in St. Louis County: the west county sandwich map for 2026, with the Rockwood and Parkway calendars next to Aging Ahead, the Senior Resource Line,2026-09-10 - How to talk to teenagers about Grandpa dying
How to talk to teenagers about Grandpa dying and what to tell younger kids about Grandma's decline: short scripts for 12, 15 and 18, the questions they will ask, and the ones 2026-09-10 - FMLA to take care of a parent while working, 2026
FMLA to take care of a parent while working: what the federal law covers in 2026, what it does not, taking it a few hours at a time, and the sentence to say to HR, cited to the U.S2026-09-10 - Balance work, kids and an elderly parent
How to balance work, kids and an elderly parent with the split week: two rows, one sheet of paper, and the collisions families hand off first, written for west St. Louis County in 2026-09-10 - After school care and elder care at the same time
After school care and elder care at the same time: why 3pm to 7pm is the window that breaks families, and the three ways it gets covered, a neighbor, a shifted work day, or a careg2026-09-10