By AMY SHANKLAND
Sandwiched
“Oh, this is the BEST stage!”
My husband John will tell you that I’ve said this phrase every year for the past 21 years – in other words, for as long as I’ve been a parent. This statement refers to each stage of life our boys have been in.
At first, I gushed out the phrase when the boys were babies and toddlers. They were so snuggly, so cute, and it seemed like they changed every week. Of course, there were the not-so-fun moments when we were up with them at 2 a.m. Or when we had to change a poopy diaper for the eighth time in one day. Or when they had crying jags for no discernable reason. But overall, I loved it.
I next proclaimed the preschool years as the best stage. Jonathon and Jacob were a bit more independent and I was working from home with them as a daycare provider (toughest job I’ve ever had, by the way). Oh, the fun we had at parks, the zoo, Chick-fil-A, etc. Seeing the world through their eyes was magical.
But, oh, the elementary school years! The best. John and I dove into Cub Scouts together and led everything from the Pinewood Derby to den meetings to field trips. And when the boys reached middle school, they crossed over to Boy Scouts and we had such great adventures! Jonathon and Jacob were quite independent then and we could leave them at home when we went out on dates. That was the best stage.
Oh… but then there was high school… that’s when I also entered the Sandwich Generation and began to take care of both my mom and our family. Even though it was an incredibly stressful time in my life, I loved seeing the boys in their activities, ranging from cool science projects to jazz band and choir concerts. They helped their grandmother move into and get adjusted with her assisted living facility as well, which was nice. The best!
And now they’re young adults away at college. I told my best friend recently that adult children ROCK. For example, John, Jonathon, and I visited Jacob up at Ball State last Friday evening. We enjoyed some Chinese food, then went back to the house Jacob is renting with some friends to enjoy a game of Uno. Or, should I say, cutthroat Uno.
Cutthroat Uno is playing the game and not allowing someone to stop drawing cards until they get the right color, number, or symbol to put down on the discard pile. This definitely made the game a bit more, um, entertaining. We often found ourselves at times wondering if we had more cards in our hand than in the draw pile. But we laughed and had an absolute ball.
As we drove back to Noblesville, I couldn’t help but reflect on how wonderful it is to have adult children. Yes, we still guide them, but we’ve become friends with them – and it is a blast.
After all, it’s the best stage.