From the archive

Your parents don't always want you to live your own life

Then the invoices arrive. “We raised you.” “We invested so much in you.” “We gave up everything for you.” You can be grateful for help. You can help the people you love, care for them, be there when things get hard. But having a child doesn't grant power of attorney over every decision they will ever make. I don't remember a baby signing a contract: food, shelter, and care in exchange for a lifetime of meeting expectations. If love suddenly presents that deal, I'd at least like to see where I agreed to it.