Page 1 of 1 [ 4 posts ] 

_Josh_
Butterfly
Butterfly

User avatar

Joined: 30 Jan 2015
Age: 33
Gender: Male
Posts: 11
Location: London

12 Apr 2015, 12:16 pm

A couple of days ago my father discovered he had to go through surgery due to a problem he found out recently. Since he needed to get this done in another city, the day after he went I decided to go with him. The choice was between me and my mother, but since she never took a plane and she's never been alone in a big city, I decided to go (I live abroad by myself, so I'm more familiar with this situations).

I moved my flight of a couple of days and I've booked another one to reach my father (I send an email to my professor at university to notify them that I'll miss a lecture).

This weekend I also needed to go out with some of my classmates at university to visit a place for an assignment, and so I missed that too. And here's the problem.

The project itself it's not a problem (I can go by myself to get the materials, it's also due in two weeks and the professor told me to not worry about it), but the day they went I felt so bad that I have missed it.

That's because I've problems at socializing, and I don't see my classmates often outside university, so it would have been a nice thing to do. My father at the moment doesn't seems in bad shape (due to some problems we had to wait here in the city, and he's going through surgery tomorrow), and so I kind of started thinking if I made the wrong choice to came here, because maybe he didn't need me after all (he said that he could have stayed alone).

I mean, I'm glad he seems pretty okay so far, but that probably also mean I could've just left my flight as it was and do other things.

I know I will probably have other opportunities to see my classmates outside university, and I'll probably should be glad that I'm spending some time with my father (I definitely see my classmates often than my father, because as I said I live abroad and I spend like 10 months a year not seeing my parents). But for some reasons, that still hurts.

Maybe I'm just making a big problem out of a small things (I do that often), and maybe in the future, when my father will not be around anymore, I'll appreciate this more than I'm doing now, but I still keep thinking about it.

Am I overthinking this?



nerdygirl
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 16 Jun 2014
Gender: Female
Posts: 1,645
Location: In the land of abstractions and ideas.

13 Apr 2015, 6:30 am

In short, yes you are overthinking this.

It is impossible to predict exactly how things will go. You made the best decision you thought you could with the information you had at the time. Would it have been better to decide differently? Who would ever know? You cannot see how things might have turned out a different way.

Making the decision differently may have caused other problems that you wouldn't have been able to foresee.

Enjoy the time with your dad. Even though he may not have *needed* you, I am sure he appreciates the support, care, and love you are showing him. It hurts because you put aside something you wanted in order to care for your dad (and your mom, since her traveling concerns were part of your decision.)

I think you have made a mature decision here, to assist your dad at a time when you had personal things at school you could have focused on. You showed selflessness at a time/age when many don't give two shakes about their parents. Good for you!



kraftiekortie
Veteran
Veteran

Joined: 4 Feb 2014
Gender: Male
Posts: 87,510
Location: Queens, NYC

13 Apr 2015, 10:06 am

As long as it doesn't affect your standing at University, and doesn't affect your grades too much, I feel you made the right decision. Otherwise, your father might have thought you were insensitive.

If you only miss one lecture--and you notified your professor, it shouldn't affect your grade at all. Usually, one could miss 20% of one's lectures before one's grade is affected. Could you ask the professor to send you, via email, an outline of what was discussed in the lecture?

You have lots of times to socialize with your fellow students. Quality time with you dad is more important. He'll respect you for pulling your weight for him.



_Josh_
Butterfly
Butterfly

User avatar

Joined: 30 Jan 2015
Age: 33
Gender: Male
Posts: 11
Location: London

30 Apr 2015, 2:36 pm

Thank you so much, guys!

kraftiekortie wrote:
If you only miss one lecture--and you notified your professor, it shouldn't affect your grade at all. Usually, one could miss 20% of one's lectures before one's grade is affected. Could you ask the professor to send you, via email, an outline of what was discussed in the lecture?


Yeah, it didn't turn out to be a problem after all. So all good. :)