{"type":"rich","version":"1.0","provider_name":"Transistor","provider_url":"https://transistor.fm","author_name":"Beyond the Gray","title":"The Sandwich Generation Explained: Empty Nest, Aging Parents & Midlife Purpose | Ep. 15","html":"","width":"100%","height":180,"duration":964,"description":"You raised them to leave. And they did. So why does it feel like grief?\nIn Episode 15 of Beyond the Gray, Kari Schwear talks about the gray area that nobody warns you about: the sandwich generation. That strange middle ground where your kids are grown and thriving, but your parents are aging or already gone. And you're standing in between, proud and grieving at the same time, wondering, \"Who am I now?\"\nThis episode started with a Mother's Day post that went viral in Kari's community. The responses poured in from moms and dads who had never said it out loud: \"I'm proud of my kids, but I miss being needed.\" That one sentence cracked open a conversation that most people in their 50s and 60s are having inside their heads but rarely with anyone else.\nKari gets personal about her own empty nester experience, how drinking went up after the kids left, the identity crisis she didn't see coming, and why the sandwich generation is one of the most overlooked gray areas in midlife.\nIn this episode you'll hear:\n• Why pride and grief can coexist in the same hour and why that doesn't make you ungrateful\n• The identity crisis that hits when \"mom\" or \"dad\" is no longer your primary role\n• How Kari and Rob's drinking went up after their kids moved out and why that's more common than people admit\n• What it's like to watch a parent decline with Alzheimer's while your kids no longer need you\n• The difference between how men and women process the empty nest (and why both are valid)\n• Why busyness, hobbies, and alcohol are often just ways to fill a void that only purpose can fill\n• The real comments from listeners that prove you're not the only one feeling this\n• Questions to sit with this week: Who am I now? What do I actually want?\n• A prayer for anyone navigating this season\nIf you're in your 50s or 60s and you've been feeling proud and lost at the same time, this episode will make you feel seen. And if you've noticed your drinking go up since your kids left, there might be a...","thumbnail_url":"https://img.transistorcdn.com/o3QgvEYD_EzW-1N7UZfNYTN4qL2oafyqZIw1SF69BYo/rs:fill:0:0:1/w:400/h:400/q:60/mb:500000/aHR0cHM6Ly9pbWct/dXBsb2FkLXByb2R1/Y3Rpb24udHJhbnNp/c3Rvci5mbS9kYjNl/NjgxZTdjNDY2YjIw/NjdlNjBlYTUyMjgw/OTZjMy5wbmc.webp","thumbnail_width":300,"thumbnail_height":300}