Sandwiched

I don't write on the blog about some family issues, to protect others' privacy.  Suffice it to say I'm caught in the sandwich--with a mom who's declining and a family member who's quite ill.  My mom's situation is I'm sure, common to a lot of people.  The court took away her driver's license this past spring as a result of a bizarre auto incident (we'll probably never know what happened--her and the police's versions are vastly different).  None of us kids live anywhere near her, so it's been a struggle to figure out what to do.  Fortunately, we have a cousin who lives in the same town and has been willing to take my mom out at least a few times a week--for groceries, banking, and health club.  My mom thinks that's a fine arrangement and doesn't want to move.  But we all feel guilty having the burden fall on our cousin--that's not a long term solution.  But the alternative--having my mom move to a continuing care retirement community (CCRC) is quite expensive.  Now I know why people want to age at home.  But with my mom's lack of (auto)mobility, the situation is quite difficult.  There don't appear to be transportation options available to her--when I tried to contact the locat (columbus, ohio) agency on agency for transportation information, I got no response.  So we're basically in limbo, trying to figure out what to do.  My brother would like her to move to his city (in Texas), but she doesn't want to move.  And I know she doesn't want to pay for a CCRC--she's quite frugal.

Meanwhile, I worry about another family member's condition and long-term prospects.  And I feel guilty about not making any money, although I'm trying to position myself to do so.  But the voiceover field is quite overwhelming, and I'm trying to avoid spending money on approaches that may not pan out.  Such as the website that posts auditions, but you have to pay to gain access to the audition info.  Comments I've seen on the web suggest that people break even, at best, in paying to get audition info.  And that's from people who have some experience.  But I'm not giving up--I'm just trying to be realistic.

Being reminded of these circumstances makes it hard to stay positive.  My approach has been to try to crowd out negative thoughts--but sometimes they can overwhelm.