I have to get this out. Like, I feel so incredibly guilty just thinking it, let alone typing it, but I just… I wish my parents weren’t so dependent on me. Not in a mean way, you know? Like, I love them, I really do. And I know it’s not their fault they’re getting older and need more help. But sometimes I just wish, like, a tiny bit, that their needs weren’t SO much. Like, just a little less. Just enough for me to breathe, maybe? It’s been going on for years now, obviously. My mom, she had that fall, and ever since then, it’s like everything just snowballed. My dad, he tries, bless his heart, but he’s not exactly the most… organized person, you know? So it all falls to me. And I have my business, which is like, my whole life. It’s my baby, and I’ve worked SO hard on it, finally getting to a point where I can actually pay myself consistently, and we’re getting some traction in the community, you know, competing with the bigger places. It’s a good feeling, like I’m actually accomplishing something I set out to do. But then my phone rings, and it’s always something. "Can you take me to my appointment, honey? Your father forgot." Or, "The sprinkler system is acting up again, and your dad just can’t figure it out." And it’s not even just the errands, it’s the emotional stuff too. Like, I’m constantly mediating between them, or listening to one of them complain about the other. Just last week, I had to drive all the way across town, past the new bakery that just opened, to drop off some paperwork for my mom because my dad said he "couldn’t find his good glasses" to read the address. Like, REALLY? I had a huge delivery coming in, and I had to put it off. And the thing is, I can’t say no. Because who else is going to do it? My brother, he lives, like, three states away, and my sister has her hands full with her own kids, so it’s just… me. And I see my neighbors, you know, they’re out playing golf, or going on little trips, and here I am, cancelling my Friday night plans AGAIN because my mom needs me to help her with something on her tablet, or my dad needs me to pick up a special dog food. It just feels like my life isn't my own sometimes. Like, I have this dream for my business, and for my own future, and it's just... constantly on hold. And then I feel AWFUL for even thinking that because they’re my parents and they need me. I just want to close my eyes and, like, wake up and everything is just… easier. Just a little. No huge emergency, no forgotten appointments, no needing me to explain how to use the remote for the hundredth time. Just one week, maybe. So I can actually focus on my business, or even just go to that new yoga class I keep meaning to try. I just want a little bit of my old life back, you know? Before it all became about what they needed. It’s selfish, I know. But it’s the truth.