The dilemma I’ve never known, despite asking both my parents, why, for the first four years of my life, I lived with my grandmother. Then she died and I moved in with my parents. Like my grandmother, my parents were strict and beat me. I was often bruised and occasionally bloodied. They demanded complete obedience. I would be hit if I got a less than perfect grade for any subject at school. It taught me to be a hard worker, so I am pretty successful now. I am in my 40s, know some nice people and could have a good life if every spare minute wasn’t spent either with my father or fretting about him.
My mother died five years ago and my elderly father’s health and dementia require a lot of care. The past two years were super-difficult and the last six months were closer to hell. I have appointed a care agency to come in, which he hates, and he needs more supervision than they are able to provide.
