Divorce and the Stepmom
This interesting post by Jessica Griffiths popped up on my radar for those men who may be dealing with divorce. It was posted on the site: the Good Men Project (https://goodmenproject.com/). The Good Men Project is “a diverse community of 21st century thought leaders who are actively participating in a conversation about the way men’s roles are changing in modern life—and the way those changes affect everyone” and seems to be a good place to go and find relevant articles and information for men dealing with some of our own questions.
This particular article is actually from a woman’s perspective - someone who was a stepmom, but now going through a divorce. The thing that caught my eye on this was an element of a second marriage that we often don’t pay attention to or think about - the kids who come into that marriage from “outside” and then how their life gets disrupted from the loss of a parent, but also how one of the parents might become “non-involved” almost instantly, despite strong bonds.
I find articles about divorce once in a while because of how awful it can be but also because of how common it is. Some divorces are ugly and others are amicable, but they always involve a disentangling of two lives that come together and form strong relationships within family and friends that surround a couple. If you know of people going through divorce, reach out a hand - you never know what they may be feeling on a given day or why they are feeling that - but knowing someone is willing to talk with them can be very important.
Big Tech Addressing Affordable Housing
Apple is pledging $2.5 Billion to address affordable housing issues in CA. They aren’t the first but the article says that more investment will be needed when looking at a housing market that outpaces the standard of living in the tech state. Median home values are rising which isolates workers who are not earning enough to keep up with the rising values.
It will be interesting to see how private subsidization might help or create new solutions to housing issues. If done altruistically it might have a shot, but if it gets corrupted to see how much profit there might be at the end, if too many people get their hands on the money before it gets distributed, it could just be another affordable housing failure - good intentions, but suffering from unforeseen consequences. But for now, I’ll choose to be optimistic. The working class needs to be able to live in a community where they work (or at least close to it), so I would hope it can work out.
Millennial Caregivers of Parents with Dementia
It’s a common story, the emotional toll that caring for a loved one with dementia can take on an individual. But that toll isn’t one that is only for people in their 50’s - 80’s. Millennials and other people across the age spectrum can find themselves in the middle of a caregiving situation at a moment’s notice.
There are lots of emotional pitfalls, but also economic and logistical pitfalls. This is part of the reason that Generation Bridge exists - we are looking to help people come together in community so that they can interact with other people in the same situation as them at our events and learn from each other and the professionals that can address the issues they are facing.
The need to be a caregiver can show up at any moment. This article by Megan Thielking addresses just that, but it also gives a real life perspective on the toll that unexpected caregiving can have - things like changing your identity, swapping roles with a parent, and putting career ambitions on hold.
The more prepared we are for life’s situations and the better we develop our networks to find help, the more successful we’ll be in overcoming tomorrow’s unforeseen challenges!
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