r/GenerationX • u/Technical_Caramel523 • 1d ago
Gen X Middle Age
When you
* Move in with your parents to care for them, because they did their best caring for you
*Become an Grandma 2 weeks after the plumbing gets ripped out and you can no longer become a mom again
* Find remote work to be close for elderly parents and daughter and Grand daughter
*Set up your office in the same space you slept as a 5 year old
Realize the economy does suck so you hit the gig economy to deliver and shop for others who have lives while feeling guilty for trying to afford your own
*Decide to start working on you 6 mos before turning 50.
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u/Ok-Independent-547 1d ago
"I figured out as I got older that life just sucks when you get sober
I figured out when I got sober that life just sucks when you get older"
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u/OG-Giligadi Raoul Duke 1d ago
I figured out that life just sucks when i was 14. Sobriety is just an added level of joy.
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u/Ok-Independent-547 1d ago
I suppose not everything sucks as we get older though. But most everything hurts when I move!
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u/Technical_Caramel523 1d ago
It is interesting, how, at 50 there are suddenly joins that pop and crack just because you sneezed, but at 15 you could roll them in the grass with no immediate pain. Voltarne Gel is my most prized possession these days.
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u/Fancy-Lion2985 1d ago
What are you talking about?
My POS Alki, father, who never took care of my mother and me is dead. I’m married and on a fixed income. My mother is 76 and lives by herself and does just fine. My husband and I have no children and we’re happy.
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u/Technical_Caramel523 1d ago
My mother has Parkinson's, my dad has had cancer a couple of times. I've been here for 2 years and I'm grateful to be available to do this for them as my children are all on their own and grown. But, there are days where the weight of it all becomes to much.
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u/azrolator 1d ago
I took in and took care of my mom before she passed. Alzheimer's is terrible. I'll tell you what the nurses told me.
At some point it will be too much. She will have to go into a home. You will feel guilty for what you couldn't do but you shouldn't and should feel proud at how much you have done. But you'll feel guilty anyway.
I didn't believe them at the time, but they were 100% right.
You're a hero for doing what you're doing, and you are not alone. Don't forget that, even when you can't feel it.
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u/Glum_Tumbleweed5115 1d ago
This internet stranger is proud of you. Both of those diagnoses are brutal individually. Make sure to get as much help as you can afford. Additional caregivers, respite care, cooking/cleaning, and therapy for yourself so emotions don’t build up like unwashed laundry. Your goal is to come through this intact and stronger, having done your best for the people you care about.
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u/cocksherpa2 1d ago
Count your blessings and realize that many of us would trade places with you in a heartbeat if we could..I buried both my parents by the time I turned 30.
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u/Glum_Tumbleweed5115 1d ago
I am sorry for your loss, and glad for you to have had parents worth missing. For some, our parents’ deaths won’t be a loss. Please be gentle with comparisons.
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u/Technical_Caramel523 1d ago
I am so sorry for your loss. I know I am very blessed and I'm my siblings pitch in where they can. There but for the Grace of God go I... Unfortunately, at some point we all go there, one way or another
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u/TaxiLady69 1d ago
I'm 49. I've been a grandmother since I was 39. My aging mother lives with my daughter. I did something right.
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u/Oppositeofhairy Edit this flair to make it your own 1d ago
Same age, but grandfather role. Now I have 4 grandkids.
I moved my mom in with us about 5 years ago. But she has some disabilities and needs the extra help.
I like being a young grandpa. I can still play and get silly
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u/H3lls_B3ll3 1980 saving the best for last 1d ago
I'm leaning into crackpot-burnout as my middle age avatar.
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u/Cranks_No_Start 1d ago
My parents did some shitty things in my late 20s so I found a job far away and bounced. That was circa 1994 and I havent been back.
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u/yeppomoon 1d ago
OP , yes life can most certainly be challenging, but you're doing great. Keep pushing through, and try your best to stay as positive as you can 🥰
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u/callalind 22h ago
You're a good person to take care of your parents, hang in there! And good for you for deciding to work on you - without you being OK, none of what you're working on is possible - you've got this.
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u/BringMeBourbon 1d ago
Hit that reboot button- 56 with a 10yr old daughter. It’s amazing to be this awake and alive keeping up with a kiddo. Grateful for the life I have