I feel very hurt when others around my age or older tell me, "I'm so thankful that I have one (or both) of my parents alive". It seems everyone I know around my age and a little bit older have one or two parents living. My Mom passed away ten years ago and my Dad passed away in 1998. I felt like I was very young to lose both my parents. I was 41 when my Dad passed away; and at that time I felt like I had no parents because my Mom had Alzheimer's.

Like Skeezyks had said, I have been independent myself also. I was at the opposite coast in the last ten years of my parents' lives. When I lived with them I didn't feel emotionally close. In fact, I couldn't stand it. But ironically I felt closer to them when I moved out and very far away. Going to visit them once a year was something to look forward to and I enjoyed it. After my Dad passed away, I went to visit my Mom with her living with my sister, her husband, and kids. I didn't enjoy visiting there after my father passed away.

I don't miss them a whole lot though, much to my surprise. I feel very bad for saying that. There hasn't been a time when I ever cried because I miss them so much. But there were times when life got a little bit hard, they were there for me to help. And that I miss.

Also it seemed like I had depression and health issues a lot more after both of them passed away. I don't know if it's because of their passing that it happened; or is it because I got older?