They say that filial piety comes first, and in this world, taking care of our parents is a natural responsibility.

Filial piety is not only a responsibility but also a duty. As the saying goes, every family has its own difficult scripture, and every family will face its own contradictions and difficulties when it comes to taking care of their parents.

Leo Tolstoy once said, “Happy families are all alike; unhappy families are each unhappy in their own way.” This sentence is indeed true.

“Mom, did I owe you in a past life?” A few days ago, when I walked past Aunt Zhang’s house, I heard the sound of quarreling coming from inside. It seemed that Aunt Zhang’s mother was throwing a tantrum again.

Aunt Zhang is 65 years old, and her mother is 80.

A few years ago, her mother’s health was still good, but in recent years, she developed Alzheimer’s disease.

Aunt Zhang’s family has two elderly people, her parents, who are almost the same age and have similar health conditions. Her father needs a wheelchair due to a disease he contracted in his youth.

As the youngest daughter, Aunt Zhang, 65, has a sister who is one year older than her. The two sisters share the responsibility of taking care of their parents. Her father lives with her sister, and her mother lives with her.

Facing her mother’s sudden Alzheimer’s disease, Aunt Zhang was caught off guard.

Now that Aunt Zhang is over 60, she needs her children’s care, let alone taking care of her mother.

To avoid burdening her children, Aunt Zhang took on the responsibility of caring for her mother alone.

At first, she thought she could handle it, but after taking care of her mother for half a year, she was exhausted.

One time, when Aunt Zhang was cooking in the kitchen, she discovered that her mother was missing. She searched the entire neighborhood but couldn’t find her. It wasn’t until the neighbors helped her report to the police that they finally found her mother sitting alone in a park.

This incident made Aunt Zhang extremely anxious, and she felt guilty for not being able to take good care of her mother. From then on, she was even more attentive to her mother’s needs, keeping an eye on her 24/7.

Recently, Aunt Zhang’s grandson was born, and due to her children’s work schedule, they left the baby with Aunt Zhang to take care of. This added to her stress, as she had to take care of her elderly mother while also taking care of her grandson.

Her mother sometimes acts like a child, throwing tantrums, which makes Aunt Zhang very helpless. But she thinks that since her mother is already so old, she might as well just go along with her.

Aunt Zhang says that she can’t take care of her mother for much longer and can only take it one day at a time.

I wonder what you think about Aunt Zhang’s story. In reality, many families face similar problems. When facing the pressure of taking care of both the elderly and the young, many people feel overwhelmed.

So, how can we solve this problem? The answer is simple.

Choose a suitable nursing home

If we have the financial means, we can send our parents to a good nursing home, where they can receive better care and attention. Visiting them regularly is also a way to show our filial piety.

Sometimes, when we reach a certain age and face the pressure of taking care of both the elderly and the young, we feel overwhelmed. If we continue to take care of our parents in our old age, it will only exhaust us further.

As we age, we want to enjoy our later years in peace, but if we’re too tired, it will only lead to suffering.

Therefore, choosing a suitable nursing home is a good option.

Learn to adjust your mindset

Some people are born to be busy, and they want to take care of everything themselves. But as time goes on, they will only become more exhausted.

As we age, we need to learn to reduce our workload and prioritize our own health. Sometimes, we can’t take care of everything, and we need to let our children take over. This is the key to a happy life.

Taking care of our parents is our natural responsibility, but we should also pay attention to our methods and not exhaust ourselves.