Your marriage has been going on for years and you can\’t remember how you met or even what happened before that. Like taking a handful of sand, opening your fingers wide, and watching the sand flow like living water until your palm is empty. And that is exactly the same sensation you feel today when you look into your heart. You have put so much effort and care into your marriage, raising beautiful and wise children together. Only, they no longer have time to visit their parents. They have somehow fulfilled their “obligation” to attend your name day and birthday celebrations. Isn\’t that enough?

Maybe yes, maybe no. But your children have their own families, their own worries and sorrows, and they do not want to worry you. In this day and age, time is a precious commodity, and young people have more work to do to meet their obligations, to pay the mortgage on their apartments, to pay the mortgage on the house they live in. Leisure time needs to be provided for school children, ski training, swim training, and various hobby gatherings. Do you have a gifted grandchild? You would be proud! But only their parents know how much they need to spend on field hockey equipment for their talented son. Or is your granddaughter an exceptional swimmer?

The cool swimsuits, the expense, the chaperoning to practices and meets, the commute to championship meets that are typically held on the other side of the country, the unpaid vacations, because when a child is a top athlete, family members often sacrifice vacation time to chaperone and support their child.
Also, even if your adult children lead mundane lives unrelated to their supernatural athletic exploits, don\’t expect them to visit you every day or even every week. It\’s up to you to dust off your former interests and hobbies and devote yourself to your own affairs, rather than to grumble at these ungrateful children. The problem lies with us.