Now my parents want me to go on vacation

S. Lanh
Tampa, FL

On my 30th birthday, my parents urged me to go on vacation. They implied there was more to life than working yourself to death. In that moment I thought I had entered an alternate universe. My parents, the folks who never let me attend any social gatherings throughout secondary school. My parents, who conditioned me to believe breaks were for the weak. My parents, the folks who chastised me in adulthood for indulging in anything for pleasure: travel, visiting friends, going out for dinner, if it didn’t make me more money, it was considered a waste of time and money. My parents, who haven’t been on vacation in probably over 20 years, who both should’ve retired long ago. Now they were sitting across from me casually talking about how I should book a trip somewhere beautiful, to relax. The irony is, I feel like I can’t go on vacation. That’s time away from making money.