A period of transition

I met my friend Morag for lunch today, at which she mentioned her concerns for her father's health. Tonight I was out with other friends, including Rob, who has also started keeping a closer eye on his father after the latter had a major operation. I need hardly say I'm making every effort to be sure my mother is well ...

All three of us are in our early thirties, at a stage when it appears the parent/child relationship begins to change. While our parents remain perfectly capable of looking after themselves, they are reaching late middle age and the possibility of their mental or physical faculties letting them down is beginning to register with those they had brought up. The balance is starting to shift.

From the parent's perspective, it must be phenominally difficult to reliquish this sort of control. For the child, there's the fear of not being up to the task. Thoughts which lead me to conclude this prayer, usually associated with the elderly, to be equally valid for younger generations:

Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can and wisdom to know the difference.