Gen Z Man Has Revelation About Why His Parents Were ‘Always Tired’

A Gen Z man has gone viral on Reddit after explaining how he finally understands why his “parents were always tired.”

Brandon, 25, who chose not to share his location other than confirming he lived on the “West Coast,” sparked widespread discussion on Reddit with a post titled “Finally understand why my parents were always tired.”

“I never had the best relationship with my parents growing up,” he told Newsweek. “There was always this disconnect where I couldn’t understand why they weren’t more present or energetic, and I carried some resentment about that into adulthood.”

Brandon found himself reassessing things recently with the help of an artificial intelligence (AI) therapy tool he created. He recently moved across the country, away from his mom and dad and had been reflecting on his childhood and trying to address the sense of “lingering resentment” that tinged his memories of that time.

“I had this moment of clarity where I started to truly consider what they were going through while raising me. They both worked incredibly hard,” he said.

He recalled how they often struggled with money and the commitment required to not only raise him but his two younger siblings also. Growing up, he had memories of them “being boring” and how they were often “too tired to play or fell asleep watching TV.”

Looking back at that time now, with an adult’s perspective, he saw things differently.

“They were exhausted from working all day, managing our household, worrying about finances, and carrying mental loads I couldn’t see as a child,” Brandon said. “All while I thought their main job was to entertain me and drive me to friends’ houses.”

The moment of realization came later that evening. “That night when I fell asleep on the couch with Netflix still playing and my dinner half-eaten, it just clicked,” Brandon said.

Now understanding of “a perspective I couldn’t see before” Brandon took to Reddit, posting under the handle u/BFH_ZEPHYR, to share his epiphany.

“Remember being a kid and thinking your parents were so lame for always being ‘too tired’ to do stuff? Used to roll my eyes when they’d fall asleep watching TV at 9pm,” he wrote. “Fast forward to me last night – passed out on the couch at 8:30, Netflix asking if I was still watching. Remote still in hand. Half-eaten dinner on the coffee table.”

He then listed off the things his parents were no doubt exhausted from:

* Working all day
* Managing a household
* Worrying about money
* Making sure I survived childhood
* Pretending they had it all together
* Dealing with their own parents
* Carrying mental loads I couldn’t see.

Brandon also wrote about how this revelation has informed the way he treats his parents now.

“Now when I visit and my dad falls asleep in his chair, I get it. When my mom says she’s ‘just resting her eyes,’ I know,” he wrote. “The greatest sign of adulthood isn’t paying bills or having a job. It’s understanding why your parents were always so damn tired.”

Reddit Users React

The post struck a chord with many, earning over 15,000 upvotes and a glut of comments before ultimately being removed by moderators. The comments remain though.

“This makes me wanna go hug my parents right now,” one Reddit user wrote.

Another posted: “Worst thing I wished for when I was a kid was to be an adult.”

A third commented: “I also now understand why my parents never wanted to go out and do anything and were almost always in a mood to snap at me. They were stressed, overworked, and underpaid.”

Elsewhere, a fourth user wrote: “When you truly become an adult you become overwhelmed with this insane respect and understanding of your parents. My mom especially.” A fifth, meanwhile, said: ” It’s the most rewarding yet most demanding and stressful thing of all time. It’s legit impossible to explain to non parents, but I don’t even slightly regret it. Probably the best decision of my life. They give me a reason to get up every morning even if I feel like rolling over and dying from exhaustion.”

Brandon does not have kids of his own just yet, but this realization and the response it has gotten has not put him off the idea.

“It’s been interesting to see how many people connected with this,” he said. “I think there’s something universal about that moment when you finally see your parents as real people who were just doing their best.”