I Feel Absolutely Zero Obligation To Take Care Of My Aging Parents

Does this make me a bad son?

Photo by JW. on Unsplash

It’s such a weird thing to be sandwiched roughly halfway between your kid and your parents. Midlife is a strange, if not unsettling time in life that, outside of making fun of it with midlife crisis jokes, we don’t discuss enough.

I’ll turn 48 in July. My daughter will be 21 later this year.

My Dad turns 90 in November. My Mom will hit 77 a couple weeks before my birthday.

As we should, we talk a lot about the plight of the elderly and the struggles millennials and Gen Z face. This isn’t the case with younger baby boomers and Gen X.

We’re not necessarily in crisis, but we’re feeling a strange mix of persistent, day-to-day emotions as we bridge the gap between our younger children and older parents.

Am I alone?

Am I crazy?

Do I think too much?

Or is it really a psychological conundrum to simultaneously —

• Anticipate your parents dying.
• Watch your children live life on their own as adults.
• Reflect on how your parents brought you up and the impact that has had on your adult life.