My grandmother raised me, but now my own parents have decided I must start paying them maintenance.
My parents live in the Midlands, while Ive made my home on the rugged coast of Cornwall. We havent seen each other in over twenty years. Both are artistssingers in a travelling choirso their lives have always been on the move. When I turned five, my grandmother took me in, moving to her relatives cottage in Cornwall to make life easier with a child.
At first, Mum and Dad visited twice, sometimes three times a year, but their trips grew rarer until they stopped altogether. Eventually I stopped thinking about them, and our contact snapped. While I was studying dentistry, I married at the end of my third year.
Now, with my husband James, we run a thriving dental practice and make a comfortable living. A year ago my father Edward and mother Margaret resurfaced. They called the clinic because they didnt even have my telephone number. Their conversations boiled down to endless complaints about their own lives.
I listened to their grievances and reminded them that they chose this path when they handed their daughter over to my grandmother. Occasionally they sent my grandmother a few shillings, but for the most part she and I survived on her modest pension. She repeated that truth often, and I understood itboth of us had learned to stretch every penny.
At school I excelled, just enough to earn a decent wage and buy decent clothes. I worked night shifts as a hospital aide to keep us afloat. Now I feel I have my own life, and my parents have theirs; let each of us walk our own road.
When Mum and Dad realised I had no intention of supporting them, they threatened to sue for maintenance. Their words finally pushed me away for good. If I had ever doubted my decision, wondering whether I should help them financially, that doubt vanished in an instant. Do you think Im right, or should I still try to help my parents?
