more important , we were doing these things for ourselves ; we 'd been on our own for so long by then that we did n't expect them to attend these events , and i think all three of us kids understood that our parents were so busy during the week-working , keeping up the house , tending to daily responsibilities , taking care of us , and struggling with finances-that it did n't seem fair to ask them to devote their weekends to us as well , when we all understood that other activities were more relaxing for them .