June 6, 2025

Friday Refresh

As the blog evolves I’m going to try skipping the weekly summary and just pose a question I have that I feel is relevant to the week’s content. What can we ALL do as a society to reduce the actual and perceived burdens assigned to primary caregivers of the family? I encourage you to think about what you can do to share the mental load or lighten the actual load of to-do’s for someone who fits this description either in your own family or who fills this role in a family you know. Examples I know of that have blessed real families can include, but are not limited to: Bringing a meal, giving gift cards for meals or to cover the cost of a need or want, providing babysitting, giving a few rides to the ones they care for, showing up at the emergency room to help advocate or for support, taking someone’s laundry home with you and bringing it back freshly laundered and folded, answering their texts asking what you would do or providing knowledge you have due to your expertise or experience in an area, providing encouragement or reassurance, bringing a self-care package, dropping off a bag of fun items to keep kids or pets happily and safely busy, cleaning or organizing a space in their home, dropping off special coffee or other beverages or treats, sharing a song or prayer or relaxation exercise with them, inviting them to join you for a break or shared self-care. There are SO Many possibilities and I urge you to think about what the individual person most needs or wants and if you do not know them super well, ask them what would be most helpful. If you are concerned that they will ask for something you cannot offer, give a few choices of things you are willing to offer and have the capacity to do.

Fun Fact about the Founder and Family: My husband and I have 4 children and we have them together. We are not a blended family, but we know some amazing blended families with many different situations. We have been married for almost 20 years, together for 26, and have been through most of the stages of parenting with at least one of our children so far. We started feeling sandwiched approximately within the last 5 years and our awareness of our status in this generation is growing.