Sorry, lemme see if I got this right: you're not telling your folks that you haven't been to see your kids for 7 months. You're not going to see your kids, for reasons that are beyond your control. So you're telling your parents that you ARE seeing your kids, because they're old and you don't want to upset them, yes? I think you're the only one who can decide what to tell them (or not tell them). You know better than others what your situation is, and what their situation is. You probably have some fixed ideas about what you SHOULD do, based on fairly arbitrary rules we all learn from others (e.g. "always tell the truth"). But life isn't a paint-by-numbers canvas, you have to look at each situation with two sets of eyes: a) it's unique, and requires a unique response from us b) there are universal values which can help us to guide our actions, but can't dictate exactly what to do in any situation. So what really helps is being honest with yourself about WHY you're not telling your parents the truth. To the degree you can get your self-interest distinguished from your concern for their welfare, it will probably be easier to see how much your deception is actually driven by concern for you, vs. how much of it is your concern for them.