Good bye to You

Our relationship is rather special. Love, hate, respect, disappointment, forgiveness, love. Different people have different definitions of you. Some talk very highly of you while others think you're so good at pissing people off it's like breathing.

I hear you lost your husband at a time when you needed him the most. I heard he was very rich and it was a big hit to you because you would then need to raise all your children by yourself. I also heard one day you were so angry at your husband you dumped an entire tub of piss and crap onto him.

I hear the only thing you ever think about is your money money money. But I also hear you gave your son-in-law money to buy a house when he took your daughter as his wife. And when he spent it all on a losing business, you kept quiet and let it pass. I also heard he borrowed money from you, and gave you a dishonored cheque as collateral. And you never asked a single cent back from him. I hear the only reason you adopted so many children is because you thought it would give you a chance at having your own children, which you did. But I also heard you made a deal with The Goddess that if one of your adopted 3-year-old son could talk you would become vegetarian for life, which you did. 

I remember you didn't like me sucking on the pacifier. I remember you rubbed chili all over it to encourage me to quit the habit. I remember following you to the market every weekend just so I could get you to buy me that little box of chocolate that comes with a free toy. I remember your private cupboard, utensils and fridge just because you are vegetarian. I remember you hanging a plastic bag on the house gate with a dollar twenty inside, and I remember the bread man knowing what to give you in return for the money. I remember you swinging the broom at my father because he'd beaten up your daughter. I remember you calling him a cow. 

You were a good person but you let your blabbering mouth get the better of you. You shouldn't have told everyone about how your only son fell from glory into bankruptcy and how he lost all his money and friends. You should have been a little more supportive and helped him get back on his feet again. You were kicked out of home because of that. And in the three years you aged and finally died here, nearly nobody came to look for you. Nobody cared because you are now poor, you don't have the money to give away and you are becoming a nuisance because you can't hold your bowel and bladder. Hardly any of your children, hardly any of your grand children. 

Good bye to you, my special person. The person I loved, hated, respected, felt disappointed at, forgiven, loved. You have lived a very successful and fulfilled life, considering the hardships you had to endure. The family you left behind is not perfect, but they will learn to get by with each other. They will learn to tolerate and avoid each other as much as they can. Good bye to you, my special person.