# Chapter 51

Sometimes you have to bear your responsibilities alone. I know I know, you want to have someone come along and share them with you and help you carry the load, we all have those feeling along the road of life when things are difficult. Having someone else help you is better than icing on cake. But there comes many more times in life when you have to adult-up and take care of your stuff all by yourself. Even when it sucks, and maybe especially when it sucks.

I am at one of those places now. Elder care doesn’t go away. No matter how hard you work at it, it doesn’t finish, it never concludes, it is never done, until it is permanently, and that is a different chapter for a different day. So you have to ride this responsibility out, stand tall, do what is necessary, and get it done not matter how negative it feels some days, no matter how alone you find yourself. This is life and you have to walk this, you can’t get around it and live with yourself. My dad did this on his own with my mom for a decade and my brother and I were little help at all.

Now brother and mom are gone and I am taking care of dad. There is no one to help, and that is just the way it is. Adult-up and stop your whining. All too soon someone will be taking care of you, you hope.