Currently witnessing this situation unfolding in front of my eyes and need an outlet to vent. Apologies, Reddit.

My best friend delivered her twin babies at the start of this week. The delivery of the first went fine. However, the second baby suffered complications requiring immediate transfer to a neonatal ICU. We don’t know how long he will stay hospitalized and the unsettling possibility he may not make it looms over.

Her parents, a retired, very well-off couple, were present for the delivery, all smiles and selfies with the future mother. My friend’s husband parents are both deceased, so it’s pretty much only her, her husband, and her parents. Long story short, less than 48 hours after the baby was put in the ICU, the grandparents unceremoniously announce they are leaving for a holiday in Dubai because they “need to be in a warmer place this time of the year”. According to my friend, they take lavish vacations several times per year and even constantly go lengths to remark they “want to spend their money and enjoy life”.

Seriously, what pathological level of cognitive-dissonance you need to unplug and enjoy yourself while your baby grandson fights for his life and your daughter is in severe distress? For f--- sake, who can be so inconsiderate to plan a holiday around the due date of their daughter?!

My friend is in a pretty dark emotional space right now, overwhelmed with one newborn to take care of and another in the ICU, and on top of that, having to deal with the emotions of being so royally screwed over by her parents. I suppose this situation is unsettling me because it hits close to home. I anticipate a similar lack of support from my mother (my only surviving parent) were I in need. She’s all phone calls and I love you, but I know she’ll prioritize yet another expensive vacation over having my back. From conversations I have with many of my close friends, I’ve learnt they all expect the same.

Perhaps I don’t have the whole picture, perhaps this is not my business, perhaps parents have no responsibility to their adult children, perhaps my friend was a shitty daughter, perhaps it’s the same for every generation and I’m just whinny… I don’t know… I just want to finally let out that I feel there is something very off with the way old-ish people behave these days to adult children (and their grandchildren). I have seen some much callousness that situations like this don’t even make me angry anymore, they just fill me with a deep sense of hopelessness.

And, seriously, what’s up with boomers fixation with taking expensive vacations?