An Aging Parent

It seems that those times in my life when I was not somehow responsible for someone else, were few and far between. When they came, I did not appreciate them enough and savour waking in the morning with only my own concerns and issues to deal with.
I visited with my customer over a cup of coffee this afternoon and she was happy that her kids never had children. She was never, and will never be, a grandmother, even though she is more than 80 years old. She said that because her husband came from a large family, he would have liked more children and of course grandchildren, but for her, she was happy to look after only herself and her husband. Her mother died at a young age so she really never had to care for anyone after her two children grew up.
We have raised our children and now are involved in our grand kids lives and it is truly wonderful. But lately we have been entering new territory. An aging parent requires some of the same care that a child does, but it is more intense and feels a bit uncomfortable. Decisions will soon have to be made and they will be difficult. We honour, love, and respect our parents and really do owe them a debt of gratitude for having cared for and nurtured us when we were requiring help. Now the roles are reversed. I have blogged about this before but it is getting closer. It troubles me as it comes when there are other issues in our own lives that require attention. Of course, our lives will always have these types of challenges, but often the timing really sucks.
My father saw his own dad only once in the last fifteen years of his life. Now, I cannot treat him as he did his dad. My criticism of his behaviour would then be hypocritical. Neither do I want to abandon him, but his attitude about his past behaviour is very flippant. Does he deserve to be cared for by his kids? But it is not about deserving. None of us deserves God's unconditional love, and yet he cares for us. We cannot but do the same for those who were entrusted to us.