Ok, seriously?

Things stressing me right now:
1 Money for spring semester
2 Needing to find second job to pay for second semester
3 Applying for various programs at school to pay for school
4 Not being paid enough at work
5 The notion of moving out...soon
6 My parents' relationship

Ok, so whyyyyy is #6 on my list?!?! Because they have their own stresses, to name a few: the economy sucks so my dad's work is stressful and tight; we just started a rescue and that leaves little time for house maintenance; house maintenance is done almost solely by my mom because my dad and I work outside the house full-time (or in my case, I am a full-time student and part-time worker); and 12 years of marriage leaves them at the status of roommates.

I told them tonight that it'll be a cold day in Hell when they admit that they need each other. They do. No one else could put up with either of the two of them. In odd ways, they work together. She's emotions at the surface, bubbling with compassion and dedication to each and every endeavor in which she participates; he's stoic and passive at times, keeping his feelings in check and never raising his voice unless he is really frustrated. When she is upset he lets her yell, although he doesn't like it; and when he is upset he zones out in front of the TV or just one day it all flows over.

The Buddhists believe that true love requires four things: Loving-Kindness, Compassion, Joy, and Freedom. Sometimes I don't think their relationship contains all these aspects. It sometimes has 2 or 3 of these at a time, and even that is one-sided. That makes me sad.

They met online before the hype of dating sites, and they built this relationship on scheduled online dates, sharing their soul...talking more in 9 months of communique than either had had in their 2 previous marriages (3rd marriage for both).

Loving-Kindness and Freedom combine to make that other essential element...COMPROMISE. Loving-Kindness is the desire to make the person you love happy, while also acting kindly out of love. Freedom gives you space to be yourself with and without the person you love, and you find yourself freed from the world when you are with that person. I + You = Us, and without all 3 parts of that equation, the entire entity falls apart.

Communication. What is it about us as a society that we don't want to COMMUNICATE?!?! I am the FIRST one to admit that I do not trust easily, that I do not let anyone know (right away) when I am mad...but even I know at the end of the day that communication is essential.

I am 20 years old and I feel like I have to remind my parents (who are 2.5x my age) that relationships take time, commitment, passion, and a desire to work cooperatively. It's a partership, and the second...the SECOND that one end gives up, it's all downhill from there...

Why is it that I am the grown up here?!...I guess I am making up for my failure to be responsible for school money...ugh.