People Share What It's Like For Them To See Their Parents Ageing & How To Deal With It

As you grow older and learn to live your life as an adult, you tend to understand better the struggles and sacrifices your parents have made - especially for you. From multitasking to just doing their best, your parents are your parents remain your number one emergency contact throughout your life.

But here is the thing about growing old, you may get your parents so much better but they too are ageing along with you. You've seen them as the never-getting-tired machine to them actually starting to get tired of regular work. You see them smile and now you see the wrinkles forming. You see them walking at a slower pace.

This is when it actually hits you that your parents are growing old. That the circle of life is actually pretty real. The child in you starts to feel the jitters, they start feeling anxious dealing with the conundrum that their parents won't always be around protecting them like the heroes they are.

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Here are some instances of when the grief hit people after seeing their parents growing old and how they came to terms with it:

"I'm 21 and just lost my mother (My father and brother died some years ago). She had cancer and I've worried a lot over the years about what the fuck I would do when she past away. I still feel too young, but I'm doing ok. Most people greatly underestimate what they can handle. I miss her, and it's sad, but I'm not being sucked into a dark hole like I thought I would be. You'll be ok too. Cause you have to be," says Reddit user signhereplease

"I was shopping with my mother in the grocery store and she generally is a very active shopper. She was doing her thing and suddenly came up to me and asked me to hold the cart while she took a break and sat. This was like after just 15 minutes. This is when I was like sh*t, my mother is getting old," says Raghav.

"I saw a picture of my dad holding me as a baby and realized that he wasn¡¯t always an old man. I realized that he used to be young and now he¡¯s withering away and that made me both scared and sad," says a Reddit user GingerBakerCream

"My Mom is 61. When she was my age, my Nana was dying of cancer and she spent all her spare time taking care of her. I cannot imagine surviving on this earth without my Mom. I love her SO much. She's in really great health, but has been experiencing some physical ailments (she got her left hip replaced a few years ago and now needs her right replaced soon). It just doesn't seem right that my Mom should be needing joints replaced. I still see her as a young lady chasing me around," says a Reddit user buckeyegal923

"I don't live with my parents due to work. So, every time I go back home, I do get happy but it also makes me sad to see how they seem weaker than the last time," says Ritu. "My parents are Latino and have never drunk tap water. Always from refillable 5-gallon jugs from reverse osmosis stores. Last Christmas I came back to see they had left the usual 3 in the garage, and when I asked my mama why she said ¡°They were too heavy, we were waiting for you to come back jaja¡± I legit started crying. They¡¯re definitely growing weaker, and it¡¯s putting some serious pressure on me," says Reddit user MedRogue

"I have been a sick child all along and my parents have always made sure to get me treated well. This time around, my father got sick and I've never seen that side of him. He just looked so weak, made my heart sink," says Noushad.

But hey, life goes on and while the anxiety sure does creep in there are several ways one can get on with the process of seeing one's parents' age.