The people in my life (Part II):
My Family –
My Elderly Parents, Sister (Y) & Nieces

Please understand that penning these thoughts is particularly difficult for me. As such, it has taken me longer than usual, as I struggle to come up with the most appropriate words.

Dad is approaching 80, while mum is edging towards 70. My younger sister is a single mother to two brats, a.k.a. my nieces and the grandchildren of my parents. During this period of my malaise, Dad, Mum, May and Daniel have been supportive to the point of exhaustion and fatigue. Between hospital runs to visit and bring me food, they’ve had to wipe me down everyday. For a long period of time, I have been and still am bedridden. A result of multiple fractures on my feet and a nerve condition, I have not been able to walk.

My sister works long hours and very hard, to provide her girls with the best of everything. My very spoiled nieces return home from school to my parents’, where they get spoilt rotten. Between my nieces and me, we drain the two elderly folks and May, of their energy. Not including Daniel, May is the sole breadwinner to her dependants. With Daniel, they help me out financially. They don’t have to, but my medical conditions have bled me dry, pun intended.

My nieces are emotionally distraught about my condition, but hide their feelings very well. They have yet to be conditioned to deal with losing anyone, much less a father figure. In the wake of the divorce, Daniel and I proudly stepped up. We loved them both dearly. They were like the children we never had. Throughout their childhood, we shared their laughter and played silly games together. Particularly special were the occasional late night shopping and supper at the former King Albert Park Cold Storage and McDonald’s. Every meal we shared was a “Happy Meal”. Weekends and holidays were nothing less than magical, as we went on stay-cations. The two girls were very talkative and eloquent. They made our hearts swell whenever they uttered these words, “Deh Deh and Uncle Dan, this is the best day of my life.”

With these words, we were on cloud nine. Uncle Dan and I felt like parents. Those were such happy times. Many a night, we reminisced as we settled down for the day. Somehow, the blanket of darkness encouraged our heart-to-heart conversations. In the quiet of night, we cuddled and shared our deepest feelings.

Back to reality. Besides my parents and May, Daniel helps out too. He pays for some my necessities. To ease the load of daily caregiving, he employed a domestic help to see to my needs.

They’re all exhausted, and this makes me feel very bad, almost guilty that I continue to be a burden even though they all assure me that I’m not. From an alternate perspective, I must do them justice by appreciating their love, care and help, by doing the best that I can to sustain my life.