April 29, 2026

Fitting it In

Outpatient PT at a facility extremely close to our home has been awesome as I have been able to take Mom there (and while drop off and check in is plenty of work because she still uses a wheelchair from the car pulled up outside of the entrance and into the facility) I am able to drop her off there and leave her for about an hour before coming back to pick her up. It’s one appointment I do not need to be involved in now that I helped fill out the intake paperwork. So I am able to get in a work session before picking up and once Dad was able to take Mom and that went smoothly as well. Unfortunately they are only giving her two sessions a week (which is helpful because there are only two of these appointments to go out to but it’s tough to see because she is not very active at home outside of the structured leading of a professional).

Now that my third son is a little older more of the parents are sitting in their cars instead of on the sidelines during soccer practice. We are right there at every game but there is no longer the expectation that we sit and watch practice (particularly helpful on a rainy evening like this one). My daughter also attends a tumbling class where there really is not a parent waiting room and everyone sits just outside the door to the space in their cars. So I am blogging with my personal devices and completing work notes with an awkward set up using my work laptop in the car. I am returning texts and emails during most of my spare moments and I am coordinating and planning volunteer activities/events such as the VBS that my husband and I coordinate at our church.

This is how the Sandwiched fit it all in, often from our parked cars (or driving cars and taking calls on speakerphone), seizing the downtime in life. Sometimes I enjoy scrolling my phone and I used to just enjoy the downtime more (videos, online shopping, reels) now I am scheduling appointments and getting back to people just to keep my head above water because Mom and Dad are now among those I am responsible for and the nest remains full.