Dear Queenie,
One of my grandmothers is senile and doesn’t recognise anyone who visits her. The other is too sick to take proper care of herself but she won’t let us get her someone to help her keep herself and her house clean.
I don’t visit either of them because the one doesn’t even know who I am and the other is just too unpleasant to be around.
One of my grandfathers died after a long illness that made him like a living corpse and I don’t want to have to go through anything like that again, but my parents keep after me about visiting my grandmothers.
Queenie, how can I explain all this to my parents?—Can’t take it anymore
Dear Can’t take it,
You could tell your parents what you have told me, or even show them this letter when it appears in the newspaper.
But I think you should make the effort to visit both your grandmothers, however difficult it is for you. Do it for your grandmothers’ sake, and for your parents, because it is the right thing to do.
