I'm 66 and I stopped calling my kids first - and the silence showed me something I didn't want to see: the closeness I felt was something I had been quietly maintaining all along - Silicon Canals

"The silence that followed hit me like a punch to the gut. It took Danny eleven days to call. Kevin made it to two weeks before sending a text about needing help with his water heater."

"After I retired two years ago, I had more time on my hands. Started noticing patterns I'd been too busy to see before. I was always the one calling."

"Here's something nobody tells you about being a parent-at some point, you become optional."

An experiment was conducted by stopping communication with adult children to observe their response. The author realized that they had been the primary initiator in maintaining relationships. After a period of silence, the children eventually reached out, highlighting a shift in the dynamics of their relationships. The author faced the uncomfortable truth that their children were living their lives independently, prompting reflection on the nature of parental roles and the expectations of ongoing closeness after children grow up.

Read at Silicon Canals