Feeling The Pressure to Preserve My Body and Mind For the Long Run

My father turned 80 years old this year.

He appeared more frail than he had 10 years ago, as I compared birthday photos of him at 70 versus 80th this year.

He now needs a walking stick whenever we go out to prevent falling, and the amount of food he can eat has reduced significantly.

Meanwhile, my youngest child is only 4 years old and has just recently started kindergarten.

You see, my parents had me in their forties, hence that’s why they are more advanced in age compared to the age of the parents of my peers who are also in their thirties like me.

As we celebrated my father’s 80th birthday last month, I remember thinking to myself that it was a matter of time before my elderly parent’s health deteriorated as they aged into their eighties.

I felt the pressure of eventually having to care for both my three young kids and my aging parents at the same time.

Indirectly, my mind started thinking about how to avoid the further deterioration of my physical and mental health due to the need to be functional for my kids and parents.

Firstly, I needed to ensure finances were sufficient to care for both my parents and my kids in the event should any medical emergencies or health issues arise.

We started saving more of our income and kept it as a safety net.

I also had to make sure both my husband and myself would be healthy enough that we can continue working and be there for both my parents and our children. I pictured the needs for the overall family in the next 3, 5, 10, or more years from now.

This meant that I could not fool around with my diet as often as I did in my twenties, and I started eating healthier. I went for bi-yearly health screenings, and I even booked an elective colonoscopy for both myself and my husband, just to be safe. Thankfully the results were clean.

Other than for myself, I needed to be well for my family, both the young and the old. Our families depended on us, literally.

And I realized that our health is a key investment in life, often times more so than money.

Our physical well-being, the ability and freedom to move around in a healthy body, is usually underrated, but should not be. I remembered lecturing my parents and in-laws on this, trying to get them to commit to taking care of themselves more.

So I empathize with others who are in the same stage of life as me, especially those who have both younger children, and older parents.

It feels like we’re sandwiched in between, and we are needed by both ends.

Then again, it’s another season in life, and we should live it well.