Mom texted, “We can’t make your son’s birthday. Tight month.” I replied, “No worries.”….

Jake thought I was being naive.

“They own their house outright,” he would say gently, not accusing, just practical. “Your dad has a pension. Your mom has Social Security. What are we actually covering?”

But they were my parents. They said Dad’s medication costs had gone up. They said utilities were higher than expected. They said retirement wasn’t stretching like they thought it would.

And I believed them.

Because daughters are conditioned to believe.