Relationships

‘Selfish’ woman slams parents for prioritising elderly granddad over her kids

Oct 13, 2018

The woman said she "doesn't care" about her granddad. Source: Getty.

When an elderly relative moves in with family members it can take up a lot of time to ensure they get the care they need, however one woman has been left feeling frustrated after her parents took her 95-year-old grandfather into their home.

The unidentified woman has taken umbrage with the new living arrangements, saying it has left her parents with no time to spare to see or spend time with her children, their grandchildren.

Penning an angry letter to the Denver Post’s Ask Amy advice column, the woman said that her granddad could have gone into a nursing home, rather than living with her parents, as “money is not a problem”.

“I feel as if I have lost my parents until my grandfather passes. I’ll invite them to come to their grandchild’s ‘grandparent day’ at school, and it’s, ‘No, we can’t leave Dad alone,’ or, ‘Oh, we can’t make it to the twins’ birthday party, because we can’t leave Dad’.

“This could go on for years! Every time I talk to my mother now, it’s all about my grandfather. I DON’T CARE!”

The woman, who is a single mother to twins, went on to explain that she has never been close to her grandfather as “he is difficult to get along with”, claiming that he did not take an interest in her as a child.

She added: “I expressed all my opposition to this before he moved in. I said that it was a bad idea. I was not listened to.

“Short of cutting off ties with my parents, what am I supposed to do?”

Responding to the scathing letter, the agony aunt slammed the woman for her attitude towards her parents and labelled her “selfish and self-centred”.

The reply read: “As much as I would like to answer your letter by saying, “I DON’T CARE!,” I won’t do that, because I have a shred of compassion toward you. And you should have a shred of compassion toward your parents.

“It is hard to imagine that these people you are so desperate to spend time with raised such a selfish, self-centred person.”

Telling the woman to “deal with it”, Amy suggested that she should find ways to help her parents through what is undoubtedly a difficult time, and suggester taking the kids to visit their great-grandfather as a way of pleasing everyone.

“For the next phase of their lives, your folks are going to be wrapped up in this hard thing they are doing,” she continued. “Your mother is going to be at least as concerned about your grandfather as you are about your kids’ laundry. So yes, for now her life will be all about him. Deal with it.”