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Raised by My Grandmother While My Estranged Parents Now Demand I Pay Them Child Support After 20 Yea…
So, you know, I was actually raised by my gran. But now, out of the blue, my parents have decided I should pay them maintenance.
Thing is, my family and I live in completely different cities, and I havent actually seen them in over twenty years. Both my mum and dad have always worked as performers, singing in choirsa very nomadic life, really. When I turned five, I started living with my grandmother. She took me in, probably hoping life would be a bit easier with a little one around, so she and I ended up moving in with some relatives.
At first, my parents would pop round two, maybe three times a year, but as time went on, their visits became few and far between. Eventually, I just sort of stopped thinking about them, honestly. After a while, we lost contact altogether. By the time I was studying dentistry at uni, I was already marriedin my third year, actually.
Anyway, these days my husband and I run our own dental practice, and, not to brag, but we do pretty well. About a year ago, my mum and dad suddenly resurfaced. They started ringing up the clinic, because they didnt even have my phone number! Pretty much every chat quickly turned into them moaning about their lives.
Id listen to all their grumbles, but in the end, I always reminded them that theyd made their choice when they left me to be raised by my gran. Every now and then, theyd send my grandmother a few quid, but for the most part, she and I scraped by on her pension. She told me this more than once, and I completely understoodit meant we had to save every penny.
At school I did really well, and to keep us going and have enough for clothes and food, I worked nights at the hospital as an assistant. Now I feel like my life is my own, and my parents have theirseveryones gone their separate ways.
When my father and mother realised I wasnt going to bail them out, they started threatening to apply for a maintenance order. That was the last straw for me. If Id had any lingering doubts or was thinking of maybe helping them out financially, thats all gone now. I just dont want anything to do with them anymore. What do you reckonam I in the right here, or should I still feel some obligation to help them out?
