Long term care is the 800 pound gorilla in the living room.
I hear about it in the line at the grocery store, in the elevator, at the department store, at church and on videos.
Everyone my age is facing it, and it isn't ours we are facing, today.
I am of the age group called the boomer or sandwich generation.
Sandwich meaning we have responsibilities for multiple family members.
However, we are not the first to be faced with this phenomenon, but being boomers, we are probably the first to attach a name to this huge predicament.
Boomers have altered the paradigms with which we address dilemmas in many arenas and I think we will rewrite our understanding on this one.
Here are a few of the problems.
Our wonderful health care system, good food and many modern conveniences have contributed to a life expectancy which is longer than ever.
Therefore during the last of our healthy and productive years, when we should be saving that last bit of money we will need in the future, or paying off our mortgages, or recuperating from losses in the stock market, traveling or enjoying our grandchildren, many of us have parents who are still living, and though not as strong as they once were, are still healthy.
At the same time we have adult children who are building their own futures and families and need a little help now and then.
While reflecting upon the previous generations and how they took care of one another, I came to the realization that our ancestors, in addition to living closer together, had businesses of their own, while most of us today have careers that take us to an office, factory, hospital or school building.
Our grandparents were active participants in the free enterprise system owning farms, stores, ranches, or some other type of business.
The reason so many of us are having trouble, is that we do not own our own businesses.
Not many jobs offer flexibility of time and place to permit involvement in multigenerational obligations and privileges.
That is why I began looking for a career that would permit me to work as much as my Type A personality requires and doing so around the needs of a multigenerational family.
What provided that opportunity to me? It was the internet and having an internet business.
Having an internet business gives flexibility of both time and space to be involved in the lives of a 92-year-old or a 6-year-old and every age in-between.
Building your own business in internet marketing will permit you to be where you need to be when you need to be there along with being able to support yourself while doing so.
Whatever product you are selling, working on-line opens many avenues of flexibility to you.