My father refuses help from anyone except me
Dear Delyara, Dad is eighty-seven and increasingly frail. We arranged carers. He sends them away. My brother offers to help; Dad says no. My sister lives nearby; he tells her not to fuss. Then he calls me. Shopping. Shower. Appointment. Light bulb. Medication. I work full-time and have two children still at home. Yesterday, I told him I could not come because my daughter had a school event. He said, “Fine, I’ll manage somehow,” in the voice he knows makes me feel guilty. I went to him and missed half her event. My daughter said it was okay. It was not. Dad raised us and sacrificed plenty. I want to care for him. I do not want to be the only acceptable pair of hands. When I suggest professional help, he says strangers should not have to wash him while he has a daughter. Apparently having a daughter means strangers are optional and my life is not. I am becoming angry at a man I love for trusting me too much.