I stopped fighting something last week and in a way I feel better and in another way I feel worse. I have accepted my parents are aging and slowing down, and very very mortal.They are at a point now they need more than just a daughter. That they need not just my help but caretaking. They need someone to push them to do what is good for them and to stop them from doing whats dangerous. I just started parenting my parents and I don't like it. They were always the center of everything, always in control. Its not like that anymore.
I feel less anxious in a way now that I can admit it. I cried a ton to get to this point because it means I have to face other facts too. I feel like my parents have become unruly teenagers out to steal my sanity. I love them both dearly and I am ready to give them what they need whether they want it or not but I would like to do this in a way that lets them still feel in control and happy. My dad( who is now in a neck brace with a fractured neck) calls me nag when i won't let him climb ladders. My mother laughs happily as she putters around the blueberry bushes right before she falls. I love being there for them but I don't like feeling like I just became the parent. Will I ever get used to this chage?
Anyway I would love stories and advice. I know this will be a change but I know I won't regret this time with them. So share some stories and show me how this different time can still be good.
Edited to add. Its scary but it feels so less stressful after I admit this to myself. I feel like a huge boulder fell off. I still have my parents on my shoulder but the boulder is gone.
I feel less anxious in a way now that I can admit it. I cried a ton to get to this point because it means I have to face other facts too. I feel like my parents have become unruly teenagers out to steal my sanity. I love them both dearly and I am ready to give them what they need whether they want it or not but I would like to do this in a way that lets them still feel in control and happy. My dad( who is now in a neck brace with a fractured neck) calls me nag when i won't let him climb ladders. My mother laughs happily as she putters around the blueberry bushes right before she falls. I love being there for them but I don't like feeling like I just became the parent. Will I ever get used to this chage?
Anyway I would love stories and advice. I know this will be a change but I know I won't regret this time with them. So share some stories and show me how this different time can still be good.
Edited to add. Its scary but it feels so less stressful after I admit this to myself. I feel like a huge boulder fell off. I still have my parents on my shoulder but the boulder is gone.
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