real life

Magda Szubanski just shared a heartbreaking video about the reality of caring for her elderly mother.

In the last few years, Magda Szubanski has established herself as a raw, honest voice in Australia’s media landscape. She’s open about her life and her struggles, and unlike many other personalities on social media, she uses her platform to reveal more than a flattering highlight reel.

Late on Saturday evening, the 55-year-old shared a moving short video that exemplified how so many of us feel when it comes to navigating the complex realities of loving and helping our aging parents.

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The video went for just a few short seconds, and pictured Szubanski holding hands with her 91-year-old mother, Margaret.

“Mum and I spend a lot of time like this these days. Just sitting quietly holding hands,” she wrote.

“She’s fading so fast. Good days and bad days. She’s often not sure if I’m her mother or her sister or her daughter.”

It’s a delicate relationship many of us have, or will have, with aging parents, but something we rarely talk about publicly.

Women in particular often take on a caring role, battling guilt, sadness and frustration as they struggle to balance their busy lives with the needs of a loved one who requires increasing support.

Listen to Mia Freedman’s interview with Magda Szubanski on No Filter. Post continues after audio. 

“I’m not her full time carer but I do as much as I can,” Szubanski wrote of her role when it comes to her mother, before adding, “…and always fear it’s not enough.”

The actress and comedian struck a cord with hundreds of fans, who offered words of support.

“We can only do what we can. It is a sad and difficult time,” wrote one Instagram user. “Just love her,” wrote another fan, assuring Szubanski, “it’s enough.”

Szubanski has previously praised her mother’s bravery for housing Jews during the Second World War. In April last year, her family received a Courage To Care award for their actions during the Nazi occupation of Poland.

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There’s no doubt Margaret Szubanski has lived a truly remarkable life, and while watching your parents deteriorate physically and mentally before you is impossibly difficult, it’s moments like the one Magda captured, that make the process easier.