Its a tremendous burden, but also a tremendous privilege to care for ones parents, in their senior years....its hard work, often heartbreaking, and often extremely time consuming...but the way I look at it, my parents took all the time in the world to care for me and my brother when we were growing up...so it was never an imposition to care for them when they needed it.....
My dad was easier to care for than was my mom...dad had cancer for just a few months, before he died...mom, on the other hand, had Alzheimers for years...dad cared for her in the early stages...but then he got sick, which I know he never expected...so when he died, I inherited her...I took care of her for years at home with me and my family...she was a pistol, never a dull moment, what with the Alzheimers....
It was hard, ,but I would never have had it any other way...it was an experience that I will treasure forever...
The privilege... yes. I can see that. I tear up just thinking about it. I am an adult and I STILL need my parents. I suspect that doesn't ever go away. And when they pass on, your life is forever changed. Never a chance to go back in time for just one more moment with them.
I trust your parents are at peace, and together again. That is as it should be.
When my grandmother passed at ninety-one, her friends sent my mother a card. They were fellow dominoes players with Grandma. And inside the card they wrote, "She won!". That's the way they viewed death, they were elderly, looking at their future and recognizing that time was precious. But, they also believed that in death, we can reach our greatest reward with the Lord. That kind of puts things in perspective, for me at least.