Asalamu-alaikum,
I have elderly parents who live 2 hrs away and my older sister had to quit work to look after my mum who isn’t well and has numerous health problems. My sister has had to move in with them and this is putting a strain on her health and her marriage as her husband has health issues as well. She also has 2 grown sons who are single and live at home. I’ve asked my parents to come live with me but they say they have lived the majority of their life there and cannot move now. I go up to stay with them every 5/6 weeks in the school holidays to give my sister a break. But my sister is finding it too stressful day to day.
My husband and I made the decision to move to be closer to my parents but unfortunately the job situation isn’t good where they live. So realistically the kids and I would have to move and my husband will stay here and he will have to rent a room as we cannot afford to run 2 houses.
The other issue is I have 3 kids, my sons are at a very good school here and my daugther who is 11 yrs old just started attending an Islamic school and is really happy there. She wears the hijab now and is interested in Islam. In my parents town, I will have to send all the kids to a Catholic school as the secular schools are oversubscribed.
I am confused as to what to do because I want to look after my parents and know my sister is struggling so feel guilty. But on the other side I feel my kids (who don’t want to move) might dislike the new school and not perform well. I’m also worried about my daughter and the friends and environment she will be exposed to there coming from an Islamic school.
Finally, the move will most likely put a strain on my marriage as my husband won’t be able to see us very often. He is very close to the kids and I often need his input with my teenage son.
