Thanks for your Aug 23 column in CJN. I thought myself alone in the feelings you’ve expressed so clearly. I rarely smile anymore, much less laugh. How can I ? How can one be jovial knowing that millions (if not billions) are suffering, some horribly ? Over the years, it has become increasingly difficult to enjoy even the most mundane things. It is a terrible injustice that some are blessed greatly and other much less so. For this, I question G-d; sometimes sternly. The Torah is clear: oppose injustice ! So, if He gave me (us) a strong sense of justice, then we are obligated to strive for equality for all. You spoke of “balance.” But, I know I have not nearly enough. I suppose a shrink would catagorize me as melancholy, socially poorly adjusted. Yet, how can one turn a blind eye ? I ask, why must I carry the weight of the world on my shoulders ? How easy it would make life if I could simply accept the state of things, turn my thoughts to trivial pleasures ! So very few understand … Shalom, Ken

My parents are 81 and 82. My dad who is 82 is suffering from the late stages of Dementia and my mom at 81 is tired and having trouble coping. Me and my children live with my parents. It is easier for me to be their to tend to what they need and to ensure that someone is always in the house….the kids, who will be B’nei mitzvahed in March have a tough time understanding it. My 22 year old who is still at home takes them to appointments during the day when she is doesn’t have university classes. It is hard, emotionally, but I wouldn’t have it any other way, When my sister says I am coming to your house Friday, I always say you mean mom and dads. I agree, when I am sick with a migraine or have a bad day…I go straight into my mom’s room and lay down on her bed. I sit with my father and watch tv with him, just to be with him They are my world. They are always there for me, the door was always open…no questions asked. The only thing they ever asked is, ‘are you happy?’. That was their only concern. My happiness, for when one is happy, everything falls into place. My father showed me his Tallit, I cried. My mother talks about Baycrest for my dad, I cry. The thought of them leaving me forever it too much to bear. My father is a survivour of the Holocaust. He lost his entire family at age 13 and now at 82 he is forgetting us. He is losing the memory of this family. I cannot cope with that loss. I believe in Hashem (God) , but how could he take another family away? It weighs heavily on my mind. On Thursday there is a meeting at my house to put my dad on a waiting list for Baycrest…I can’t attend….to painful I am the sensitive one. My sister who is a social worker can deal with these things. I know I am not the only child dealing with this issue, but it is a painful…life is the best when they (my parents) are around…..