Empty Nester Wishing for Down Time

I find my self in a time of life where I could be termed an empty nester, but I am not feeling much like one.  I think that due to the economy, the delay in becoming parents and the increase in life expectancy many of us who are "empty nesters" are not sharing the feelings of loss and loneliness that our parents experienced when we flew the coop.
Just like you, I am finding myself playing a larger role in my adult children's lives then my parents did.  I believe that we need look no further than the bleak employment opportunities and the economy, to find a reason for this.  Balance is the key.  I think it is important to balance our children's needs and our needs at this stage of life.  Helping them to the detriment of our health and financial stability is not good for them or for us.  Try to assist them in working within their means by reducing the number of times they eat out, cutting back on cell phone cost (I have a pay as you go plan instead of paying a monthly rate) and eliminating cable and high speed internet.  Some of these cut backs will probably be met with resistance because they will think that they will be returning to the dark ages but you can assure them that there are places like the library where they can access high speed internet for free.

At the same time as we are playing a more active role in our adult children's lives, we are shouldering the responsibility for caring for our parents who are living longer with each generation.  In my case, as with many others baby boomers, we have taken jobs out of state and therefore if we can't convince our parents to move to where you live what do we do?  I find myself spending weeks at a time, several times a year, away from my home and work caring for my parents.  Hopefully, you have many siblings who you can share this responsibility with.  But the reality is that families are getting smaller.  With only one very busy brother and no sisters, I feel a need to be there for my parents and when I can't be, I feel guilty for not being there. 

Talk about being between a rock and a hard place.  Here I sit longing for my time of being an empty nester.  I know be careful what you wish for.  But I have spend two weeks this past month caring for a sick parent in the hospital and tomorrow I will begin three weeks of home healthcare with my parent doing medical things that I never dreamed I would be doing.  Maybe not the best frame of mind for tackling these very serious issues that are facing our generation of Baby Boomers, but these are issues that are very much on my mind.