I’m so tired of being the only one. The only one who remembers birthdays, the only one who coordinates the holidays, the only one who even *tries* to make sure our parents aren’t completely alone on special occasions. My mom’s dementia is getting worse, and my dad… he’s just so fragile now. It’s hard to watch. It’s hard to be around. But you know what’s even harder? Watching my siblings just float through life, completely oblivious or, worse, completely uncaring. They’re all so busy with their own lives, their own careers, their own perfect little families. My life, apparently, is just a giant pause button. This year, it was Thanksgiving. My sister, the one who lives an hour away and has two kids, texted me two days before to ask if I “had everything covered.” Like it was some casual favor, not the culmination of weeks of planning, grocery shopping, cleaning, and cooking. My brother, who lives twenty minutes away, showed up an hour late with a store-bought pie and then spent the entire meal on his phone. Not once did either of them offer to help with the dishes. Not once did they ask if I needed a break. I just watched them, laughing and talking, completely oblivious to the fact that I was running on fumes, that I hadn’t had a quiet moment to myself in weeks. I wanted to scream. I wanted to smash every single one of those carefully chosen dishes. It's not just the events themselves, it’s the lead-up, the constant mental load. Remembering my mom's dietary restrictions, making sure my dad has his special chair, coordinating travel times, reminding everyone (MULTIPLE TIMES) about the address. And for what? So they can show up, eat, make polite conversation for a few hours, and then disappear back into their perfect, unburdened lives? I watch them leave, and there's just this hollow ache in my chest. A deep, burning resentment that I try to bury but it just keeps bubbling up. I keep thinking about how different my life would be if I wasn't doing all of this. If I could just… stop. But I can't. Because if I do, who will?