As children, from the moment we are born, we begin to believe that our parents are invincible. They take care of us, love us, and nurture us into adulthood.
As we grow from infants into toddlers, and toddlers into teenagers, we don’t often realize that our parents are growing too. They are aging right in front of us, and while in some moments, that may be exceedingly clear, in others it tends to slip our minds.
The older I become, the more I begin to realize it. I’m not sure when it started to happen, but my parents are beginning to look more and more like my grandparents once did, and to be honest with you, this notion scares the hell out of me.
I don’t know what I would do without my parents. I’ve jokingly told my mother on more occasions than I can count that she has to outlive me.
To be honest with you, I am not even sure that I am joking, because deep down, I can’t imagine a world without her.
However, when it comes down to it, no matter what we do, our days are not guaranteed, and there is no telling how much time any of us have left. Because of that, while we cannot make our parents stop aging, and growing into old age, we can take advantage of the time we have with them.
I try to remember this whenever I am busy with work, or just life in general, so much that I don’t spend enough time with the people I love. I want to spend as much time with not even just my parents, but my siblings, and my partner, and I want to make the best of it.
There’s always time to binge on Netflix series later. There’s always time to go shopping. But there won’t always be time to spend with your parents. There may not always be time to spend with the people you love, but honestly, you have to make it.
Not because of the massive elephant in the room, but because we love them. If you are holding a grudge against one or both of your parents, try to work through it. If you let a silly fight come between you, you are going to regret it.
You are going to think back to all the best moments, and suddenly, the bad ones won’t matter anymore.
So, the next time you are jotting out your weekly plans, make sure you include some quality time with your parents. Even if it’s a phone call, or a lunch together, or a few hours at home with them, whatever you can do, do it.