The Big Squeeze

They call us the Sandwich Generation — but honestly? It feels more like a sad tortilla wrap. Overstuffed, flattened and barely holding it together.

The term showed up in the 1980s to describe adults, mostly Gen Xers, who found themselves caring for both their aging parents and still-dependent kids. Back then, it sounded like a theory made at the sociology factory. Now? It’s our daily, unpaid side hustle on top of our actual jobs, complete with exhaustion, guilt and perimenopause.

Our kids are staying home longer thanks to housing prices that look like phone numbers, groceries that require a second mortgage and fewer marriages delaying financial independence. Meanwhile, our parents are living longer — which is amazing — but now we’re helping them with technology, navigating new pension and tax rules, and chauffeuring them to cataract and hip surgeries like we’re running a geriatric Uber.

Then there’s retirement. Or as I like to call it: fiction. The pension age keeps creeping up, and our savings keep getting raided for car repairs, down payments or student loans. Every time we try to save, another expense crops up.

But here’s the part nobody warned us about: the long-term side effects. Not just the financial hit, but the missed milestones, the shrinking bucket lists and the gradual disappearance of “me time.” We’re supposed to be planning retirement and starting to slow down, not rescheduling a mammogram because our kid needs the car. Our “golden years” are looking more nickel-and-dime by the minute.

And still — we show up because we were raised on latchkeys and low expectations, only to become fiercely independent (and oddly good at folding fitted sheets). We know how to stretch a dollar, a minute and a smile even when we’re running on fumes.

So, if you’re feeling the squeeze, know this — you’re not failing. You’re just doing what Gen X has always done — holding it together. Quietly. Efficiently. And probably with a little sarcasm and stubbornness. We may be the filling in this multigenerational sandwich, but we’re also the glue — and some days, that glue tastes a lot like peanut butter, duct tape and chewing gum.

 

Janet Smith is a proud mom of one daughter and a marketing professional who is grateful for her rural roots in the London area. Follow Janet’s funny and honest journey at IG & TT | @re.marketable.janet or FB | @janetsiddallsmith