Anyone else’s parents keep asking them to visit India?

My parents live here in the US and our immediate family is here too, but almost everyone else is in India. Growing up, I used to spend my summers there. I’m honestly really grateful for that. I got to know my grandparents, cousins, all the extended family. Those memories are special to me.

Now that I’m an adult, it feels different.

It’s been a couple of years since I’ve gone back, and my parents keep bringing it up. The main reason is my grandparents are getting older and they’re not the same as they used to be. There’s this underlying message of, you should go see them while you still can. And I get that. I really do.

But when I go, it’s also a lot.

There are always the same three questions:

1. Are you married? I’m not.
2. How’s your job? I actually just lost my job and I’m currently job hunting, which makes that conversation extra awkward.
3. When are you settling down

?

On top of that, it’s expensive to fly all the way there. It’s a big time commitment. And if I’m being honest, sometimes it feels like I’ve already “done” India in a way. I grew up going every summer. It doesn’t feel new or exploratory. It feels like walking into the same conversations, the same expectations, over and over again.

At the same time, there’s guilt. Because my grandparents won’t be around forever. And part of me knows I would regret not going.