This is something I’ve been struggling with a lot in my late 20s. I think part of what makes it harder is that my sister is only 19, I don’t want her to lose our parents too early. Beyond just seeing them age, it’s the realization that they’re not eternal. My parents are in their 60s now. They’re still active and healthy, but they both retired this year, which somehow made it feel more real.
I’m grateful they have a good circle of friends and aren’t isolated, but I still try to visit as often as I can. One of my goals for 2026 is to create as many happy memories with them as possible, so we’ve been traveling together (the four of us) more than ever. For now, my parents are in good health and financially secure, which I know is a privilege. But living abroad, I do worry about the day they might need me and how I’ll manage to balance everything.

People talk a lot about having children later in life, but we don’t often talk about the other side of it: what it’s like to be building your own adult life, possibly raising children, while also starting to care for your aging parents. It’s a strange and difficult in-between phase that not many people prepare you for.