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Having been an expat for over half of my life I have many friends and workmates who have delayed their last trip home to see their parents until it was too late and the next time they are home they see one of them in a funeral parlour, and have regretted the fact. As recent as 12 months ago I spent a few months working back in my home country and had an apartment about 30 mins drive from my folks. I did not see them all the time but I was close enough to visit them mid week and also over weekends, take them out for lunch etc nothing too excessive the old man is 80 years old and has survived 3 heart attacks and signs of dementia are beginning to show and the old queen is now years in remission from Breast Cancer. I will be honest in saying that I don't know how long they will still be with us hence the reason I chose to go back for a few months and spend some time with them before it was too late and to also rebuild some broken bridges. It probably cost me money to have gone back but the rebuilding of the relationship with ones father makes it worth it. Now we can sit and watch Football (Soccer to my American Cousins) together even though he is in Manchester and I am in Vietnam, I bought him an iPad and put SKYPE on it for him, whenever a game on TV he VDO calls me and we can talk about the game real time, Mother has to leave the room due to fragrant language being used, it reminds me of 35-40 years ago when I went to games live with my Father and my Grandfather, a couple of beers before the match, swear our heads of at the game but very polite when back home with the ladies. This evening brought it all back again, a guy I work with here in Vietnam has an 82 year old mother in a Sheltered Housing Complex in England, at the end of January when we had TET Holidays here I told him "Go Home and See Her" instead he chose to go and set up house with his 22 year old Girlfriend in Saigon, not withstanding the fact he has a family in Philippines. A few days ago he got the dreaded phone call, your Mother is not well We don't think she will pull through, it was confirmed on Saturday that she is only being kept alive via life support machine. He is flying back to UK tonight basically to "Pull the Plug" and then arrange the funeral and his parting words to me on the drive back from work were "M I wish I had of listened to you and gone back at TET" (My Real life name has same Initial as board name) Something to think about for BM's with ageing parents.