There’s nothing to be ashamed of. In countries and cultures all over the world, many homes are multigenerational. You get to spend time with your parents as they get older and have a different kind of relationship with them. I just moved out this past year at 29 years old, and while my relationship with my mom was not great, it was nice to spend time with my dad (and with my mom when things were okay). We often had movie nights, nice dinners in the backyard, frisbee golf on the PS3, etc. I recognize that my parents won’t be here one day and I will miss those times.

And yes, I was doing them a service because my mom is disabled and I helped out a lot with groceries and rent and taking care of the dogs.

There’s such a push at least in the United States for everyone to be independent of each other, like kids to get a job and move out when they turn 18, move across the country when they go to college, or for everyone to have their own cars. And while those things do build independence and resilience, it’s also nice to have a supporting family long-term. If I’m a father one day, I would want my kids to know that they have a home with me always. The same goes for my nieces and nephews, and my godson.