You run a small business. You work hard. You have employees, inventory, bills. Life is demanding. Then you get the call. Always the call. Your parent needs something. Again. It starts small. A ride here, a trip there. Then it becomes more. You’re picking up prescriptions, managing appointments, deciphering insurance forms that make your eyes glaze over. Sometimes you just wish it would… lessen. Just a little. A small reprieve. Not stop. Not go away entirely. Just a break. A moment where the phone doesn’t ring. A day where "I need you to..." isn't the first thing you hear. You're 50, not 15. You have your own life, your own responsibilities, and for a fleeting, shameful second, you resent it all. You find yourself doing the math. How many more years? How many more urgent calls? How many more times will you rearrange your entire schedule, pushing back your own life, cancelling your own plans? And then the guilt washes over you, heavy and cold. This is your parent. The person who raised you. The person who held you when you cried. And you’re wishing for… what? Their needs to diminish? It’s a terrible thought. You know you’d never say it out loud. Never hint at it. You’d smile, nod, say “Of course, I’ll be right there.” Because that’s what you do. That’s who you are. The reliable one. The one who always steps up. But late at night, when the house is quiet, and your own exhaustion is a physical ache, the thought creeps back in. Just a little less, please. Just a little. And you hate yourself for it. You truly do. Because what kind of person wishes for such a thing? What kind of daughter? You’re supposed to be strong. Unwavering. But sometimes, when the exhaustion really takes hold, you just want to curl up and not be needed by anyone, for anything. Not even for a moment. It never gets easier. You just get better at hiding the wish. You get better at pushing it down, deep inside, where no one can see it. ESPECIALLY not your parent. Because that would be the cruelest thing of all. And you're not cruel. Just tired. Bone-deep tired.