You’re wrong Tom - you are a good son, even if it’s secondary to making your dad proud.
I also took care of my monstrous mother because my dad would have wanted me too, even if he never explicitly asked. As for my mom, the deeper she sank into the black water of dementia, the more I hated her. Both love and hate in unequal measure.
That’s just a fucked-up way of saying it’s completely normal to resent the position you’ve been forced into.
Being a proper caregiver is one of the most thankless and noble things a person can do. And you are doing it.
Btw beautiful little video of the falling leaves. Lovely and a bit sad in the context of your essay.
Thanks, as always, for your supportive and understanding words, Kent. I really like your phrase, "Both love and hate run unequal measure." Jesus, man. Let's go to Greenland.
Dealing with a parent's actual shit is a mountain peak that arrives suddenly and you get through it with shuddering panache, because who else is gonna clean it up? Everyone who has done it has entered an elite club. Few talk about it. And it's not entirely thankless. Thanks Tom, for writing about it.
You’re wrong Tom - you are a good son, even if it’s secondary to making your dad proud.
I also took care of my monstrous mother because my dad would have wanted me too, even if he never explicitly asked. As for my mom, the deeper she sank into the black water of dementia, the more I hated her. Both love and hate in unequal measure.
That’s just a fucked-up way of saying it’s completely normal to resent the position you’ve been forced into.
Being a proper caregiver is one of the most thankless and noble things a person can do. And you are doing it.
Btw beautiful little video of the falling leaves. Lovely and a bit sad in the context of your essay.
Thanks, as always, for your supportive and understanding words, Kent. I really like your phrase, "Both love and hate run unequal measure." Jesus, man. Let's go to Greenland.
Next summer!
Dealing with a parent's actual shit is a mountain peak that arrives suddenly and you get through it with shuddering panache, because who else is gonna clean it up? Everyone who has done it has entered an elite club. Few talk about it. And it's not entirely thankless. Thanks Tom, for writing about it.
Thanks for your words, David. "Elite" club, indeed. Hope you are well.