A woman offered her parents a place to live with her, but they weren’t happy with the arrangement. She then gave them a choice: stay in the guest house or move to a nursing home.
On Reddit, a widow living alone shared her story. Her kids had moved out, and she had turned some of the five bedrooms in her house into offices and hobby rooms. To make space for her kids when they visited, she converted her garage into a guest house with its own entrance.
She told her kids, “You’ll stay in the guest house during holidays.” They agreed, but things changed when her parents needed help.
The Situation with Her Parents
The woman had built the guest house for her kids, but her parents wanted to move in. She agreed and informed her kids about the change. She explained that if her kids wanted to visit, they’d have to stay in the main house because the grandparents would be in the guest house. The kids agreed to this arrangement.
On moving day, the children came to help move the grandparents into the garage. They had planned that one family would stay in a hotel to make things easier.
However, her parents were surprised when they realized they were moving into the garage. The woman explained, “They thought they could stay in my house because I have five bedrooms.”
She clarified that she only had two bedrooms available since the others were used for her offices and hobby rooms. The extra bedroom was mostly for her dogs.
Her Parents’ Reaction
The woman had assumed her parents would prefer the garage, which had its own bathroom and kitchen. However, her parents were unhappy and upset about it.
Even though the guest house had everything they needed, her parents were still dissatisfied. She said, “They wanted the house, not the garage like Fonzie.”
She then gave her parents an ultimatum: stay in the guest house or go to a nursing home.
Reddit Reactions
People on Reddit mostly sympathized with her. One person commented that her parents sounded spoiled, suggesting that if she let them stay in the main house, they might take over and be hard to get rid of.
Another Reddit user thought her parents wanted to stay in the main house so she would take care of cooking and cleaning for them.
Someone else shared a story about their friend who built a nice guest house for their parents, who were happy with the privacy and being close to their child.
However, a few people felt the woman should have explained things clearly to her parents from the start. They suggested she should tell her parents they could visit her in the main house occasionally but must respect her boundaries.
What do you think about this situation? Share your thoughts with us!
2 thoughts on “I asked my older parents to decide if they want to stay in my garage or go to a nursing home.”
Your parents took care of you while you were growing up. Now it’s your turn. Sad to say we are the worse country for taking care of our elders.
If you have five bedrooms why put them in the garage. Who took care of you until you moved out? Hobbies last forever- your parents want. I lost my mother last year due to Alzheimer’s, but had taken care of her since 2012. I miss her everyday- time is short and you will be sorry when they are gone.