I was raised by my grandmother, but now my parents have decided its high time I pay them maintenance.
My family and I live in different cities. We havent actually clapped eyes on each other for over two decades. Both Mum and Dad are artists, singing in a choir, really living the roaming lifestyle. When I turned five, I started living with my gran. She wanted to lighten her load a bit by raising a childgo figureand so she had to move in with her relatives.
At the beginning, my parents would come visit once, maybe twice a year if we were lucky, but then the visits became fewer, until they turned into a never. Eventually, I stopped thinking of them altogether. Our contact fizzled out completely. While I was studying dentistry at university, in my third year, I got married.
Now, my husband and I run our own dental clinic, and business is going swimmingly. About a year ago, who should pop up but my long-lost parents. They started ringing up the clinicthey didnt even have my mobile number, mindonly to moan endlessly about how difficult life had become.
Id listen politely, then remind them rather gently that theyd made their bed when they dropped me off at Grans and disappeared singing into the sunset. Every now and then, theyd flick Gran a few quid, but really, she and I survived on her pension. She told me this plenty, and I understood, because between us, every penny was carefully counted.
I worked hard at schoolso hard, in fact, that I picked up night shifts at the hospital just to afford textbooks and shoes that didnt leak. Ive always felt I had my life, and my parents certainly had theirs. Best, I thought, to let everyone bumble along on their own path.
When my dear parents figured out I wasnt going to jump in with a handout, they began threatening me with demands for maintenance money. That was the last straw, really. Any lingering doubt about my decision to keep my distance evaporated, along with any urge to offer them financial support. At this point, Id rather not see them at all, thank you very much.
Do you think Im in the right, or should I feel obliged to look after Mum and Dad after all?
