Hi Amanda,

What you are going through is a common experience for American women of any generation. In the US we rely on the unpaid labor of women for childcare and elder care. If you work too, then it's the second and third shift. Unfortunately, these extra shifts make it very difficult for women to continue to pursue interests, jobs, careers, or other endeavors. This is painful for women and a huge loss of adult energy and industry for our country.

The saddest part is that it doesn't have to be this way. For example, in Finland, childcare and elder care are seen as vital to creating a free society. When good Child and elder care is in place, it frees parents and children to engage with their loved one without the issues of money. It also frees adults to continue to work and contribute to the country's economy and development.

Respecting and attending to the needs of a community's young and old acknowledges their intrinsic worth. It frees us to make love the primary guide in family relationships. And it frees women of the second and third shift to which we have been enslaved for so long.

Hang in there. Watching family slide into such profound dementia is very painful. I wish you the best.

Kathleen