If you live away from home, how do you manage your time and the guilt to hang out with your parents all the time when back in town?

2 comments

1. I set an itinerary for myself to see them 1-3 times during each visit. Rough sketch of dinner/breakfast/activity plans with them. Then schedule friends around those plans.

   Then I can tell my parents specifically – I’ll be there for dinner on Friday and Sunday morning we can go get brunch, Wednesday before I leave I’ll see you for lunch, etc. Make it clear I’m busy outside of those times.

   That way they know when they can expect to see me, they know that they WILL see me, and I don’t have to stress about last-minute trying to do what I want and fit them in. It’s easier to enforce boundaries if you have an outline of when you’ll be with/without them.

2. I just make sure to spend a lot of time with them. When I go back to my home town I stay with them and try to spend at least half the trip with them.

   They understand that I also need to spend time with my gran and my friends, so I make sure to have some days spent with just my parents.