Why?

Why?

Today's NYT "Neediest Cases" write about a woman who put her "Life on Pause To Care for Her (Elderly) Parents".

Then she got sick and needed help from many organizations to help her purchase food, pay rent, pay her bills, etc.

I've been stressed out for years dealing with my elderly parents - not just their aging but their going through divorce, when they're 87 and 89 respectively, bitter divorce, moving my mom three times as a result, finding my brother who lives 20 minutes away from my mother not helping at all while I, who lives 300 miles away, have to manage her and her entire life by the telephone every day of the week, her memory that's been failing and failing, and failing... and my own health has been failing as a result (high blood pressure, pre-diabetic, all from stress and lack of exercise, memory lapses due to stress...) and that puts pressure on my husband.... and I wonder why G-d rewards those of us who are caretakers - isn't this a mitzvah? - with failing help ourselves.

We pray for refuah shalema for our aging and ill parents - and in so taking care of them our own physical and mental health begins to fail - and we ourselves become needy of prayers for health and recovery.