Today is Mother's Day. I'd like to write about my mother in her later years.
When my father died at the age of 69, my mother was 65 years old. I am now 62 years old. I can't believe my mother was only two years older than what I am. She looked so old for her age, though she was a beauty when young.
My father and mother lived in the deep, snowy country. After my father's death, my mother found it very difficult to live there alone. I think she wanted to live with one of her three daughters, though she never said so.
I am the youngest of the three. We, daughters, all lived far away from our hometown. My two elder sisters were married. They had a large family. It was much easier for my mother to live with me, because my family was small, only my little daughter and me.
I had to work to get a living. I had to be away from home in the daytime. Mother said that to stay in an empty house in the daytime made her very sad and lonely. There was no one to speak to. So, she decided to live in the nearest aged people's home.
She was 67 years old, when she left her snowy hometown and came to Niigata City where I lived.. I was 37 at that time. How young I was!
My mother had a kitchen in the home. For the first one year, she felt lonely and came to my house in the evening to have supper together with me.
The next year, she decided to cook her meals in her kitchen at the home. I bought vegetables, fruits, fish, meat, etc. for her. I brought them to her on my way from work. Two years before my father died, she had had an operation on her brain. So, she could not carry heavy goods.
It was only for those two years that she could manage to live her own life. She was constantly in and out of hospital after that. She didn't have much pep left for anything.
She often said to me, "I have nothing worth living for. All that I do is to cause you much trouble. It's no use for me to be living." I always said to her, "Mother, you are my mother. You are everything to me. You must live for my sake."
I believe ALL IS WELL THAT ENDS WELL. I am sure that my mother's later 17 years she spent with me was not so bad.
When my father died at the age of 69, my mother was 65 years old. I am now 62 years old. I can't believe my mother was only two years older than what I am. She looked so old for her age, though she was a beauty when young.
My father and mother lived in the deep, snowy country. After my father's death, my mother found it very difficult to live there alone. I think she wanted to live with one of her three daughters, though she never said so.
I am the youngest of the three. We, daughters, all lived far away from our hometown. My two elder sisters were married. They had a large family. It was much easier for my mother to live with me, because my family was small, only my little daughter and me.
I had to work to get a living. I had to be away from home in the daytime. Mother said that to stay in an empty house in the daytime made her very sad and lonely. There was no one to speak to. So, she decided to live in the nearest aged people's home.
She was 67 years old, when she left her snowy hometown and came to Niigata City where I lived.. I was 37 at that time. How young I was!
My mother had a kitchen in the home. For the first one year, she felt lonely and came to my house in the evening to have supper together with me.
The next year, she decided to cook her meals in her kitchen at the home. I bought vegetables, fruits, fish, meat, etc. for her. I brought them to her on my way from work. Two years before my father died, she had had an operation on her brain. So, she could not carry heavy goods.
It was only for those two years that she could manage to live her own life. She was constantly in and out of hospital after that. She didn't have much pep left for anything.
She often said to me, "I have nothing worth living for. All that I do is to cause you much trouble. It's no use for me to be living." I always said to her, "Mother, you are my mother. You are everything to me. You must live for my sake."
I believe ALL IS WELL THAT ENDS WELL. I am sure that my mother's later 17 years she spent with me was not so bad.