Caregivers

In my opinion it is our duty to take care of the elderly in our family. In the cycle of life, they, Parents take care of us from our birth until we complete our studies and are ready for employment or to pursue our own business. It’s a given at least in India kids are taken care of until the age of 21. Kids by and large, in privileged families, lead a safe and secure life.

Parents suffer and sacrifice to bring up kids by meeting their requirements without any compromise in a tough and ruthless world. As children we need to understand the pain and suffering undergone by our parents. Why and for what purpose. Only then will we realize their importance and how their entire lives revolved around us. For our Parents their whole meaning of life was to see us succeed in whichever sphere we chose to pursue. There would be some naysayers, of course. And I don’t intend to dispute. There are always two sides to a coin. People are likewise. There are always some good and some bad apples in a bag of many. Let’s only talk about the well-nourished ones. They protect you, when you are young, like a tigress protecting its cub from being preyed. They cry and laugh with you in your life’s unforgettable moments. Those parents will do whatever it takes in making their wards are off to a glorious start. They not only breathe aspiration into your life, they guide, and they participate and ensure they support you in every endeavor you pursue until you accomplish the ultimate goal.   So while they have completed their responsibilities to you, which could include also getting you married to a matching spouse. There’s nothing more you can expect from them.

Now as the cycle moves on and they become old, they sometimes become dependent either financially or emotionally or physically. Therefore it becomes a moral obligation on us to take care of their needs as they see it, even if they don’t ask for it.

At this stage in life, typically the children are married and with or without kids of their own. While they take much care of their immediate family, they sometimes choose to ignore the calls of their parents. They can cite “n” no of reasons for this abdication of accountability. It may seem justified from their perspective. My questions though are is it morally and ethically corrects, to derelict your duty. I am sure this post will elicit numerous answers both pro and against. Like I said everything and everyone has a right to speak and to be heard. It’s after all an opinion and not a doctrine that can be enforced upon everyone.

However my perspective has been always like this. We, Children, are primarily duty bound for the welfare of our Parents. It’s absolutely sacrosanct in my opinion. One cannot renege from this commitment, whatever is the circumstance.  Just imagine a parent disowning their child due to certain inabilities or misfortune in life. It doesn’t happen in most cases. So how can you retract from your responsibility when it’s your time to own it up?

Lot of people may have difference of opinion which is absolutely fine. Life doesn’t treat everyone the same way. One person’s perspective can differ from that of another depending upon how they were brought up, in what circumstance and surrounding.  That’s what Life is all about. Being different, Thinking and Acting different. The key moot point here is to accept the fact that we are all different and yet live a harmonious life, by accepting this fact.

To conclude, it’s your choice to be a caregiver or not to someone you love someone who has loved and still loves you with all their heart and soul until their last breath, despite the differences they may perceive in you. That’s why Parents are unique creatures in this irrational schizophrenic life. They love you more than anything else in this world including their own life. It is simply because, you are their life.