Promises of someday

I'm feeling a bit disillusioned at the moment. Is it an understatement of sorts, sure I have felt that the facade of society has always been a real downer, but of late, I think my individual experience has a more common thread.
Work hard, get a house, sell it eventually and buy a better one, move to a more moderate climate and enjoy the twilight years with a modicum of security and knowledge that you can live prudently but with comfort; or not.
My parents are eighty and they have a house to sell, in one of the most highly desirable counties in California. It's been on the market for almost two years, and they have lowered the price considerably. A few years ago, when it wasn't for sale, someone asked them to sell it, they declined as they were not ready. Now, as age and health have become much more serious issues, they are stuck, albeit in paradise, but without many options.
My dad was never sick, didn't miss work, and if for some emergency he had to, my mom would teach his class for him. He really hasn't retired and they still submit papers to conferences. Yet, with all of that work ethic and commitment, the rewards are scarce and far less satisfying with the knowledge that what they thought the end result would be, actually is not.