Oh, I still can’t believe a child could abandon their own mother like that.
So, one morning, I stepped out into the garden and noticed an elderly lady at my neighbour’s place. She was hunched over, dozing off under the awning on their little bench. Thought it was odd because my neighbour doesn’t have any family left—no kids, just lost her husband last year after he’d been poorly for a long time. Of course, she’s been lonely, but she’s not so old that she’s given up on life. Just has to make the best of it.
I popped round to ask about the woman. The old dear was polite but quiet—barely said a word. My neighbour whispered to me that she was in a state because her son had cut ties with her. Best not to bother her, she said.
Turns out, she’d spent her whole life working at the Royal Philharmonic. Her late husband was a university professor. She knew about his, well, *affairs* with students, but she never made a fuss. Didn’t want to break up the family. So she kept quiet.
Her son and her work were her whole world. She even gave private music lessons at home.
Then her son grew up, finished uni, got married. Had a granddaughter she adored. That’s when her husband walked out for another woman—though he never bothered with a divorce.
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Her son and his wife were busy building their business, so visits were rare. But they’d drop off the granddaughter sometimes. Then, one day, age caught up with her. And wouldn’t you know it—her husband came crawling back after his fling dumped him. But now he couldn’t stand the sight of her. Said she looked like an old woman—well, of course she did! He kept hoping he’d find someone younger.
By then, the son had a big, posh house. The father started nagging him to take his mother in. The son didn’t mind—his daughter loved her nan. But the wife?
No way was she having some old woman cluttering up *her* home. At first, the son put his foot down—it was his *mother*, after all—so he insisted she’d live with them.
Fine. But only if Dad signed over his flat to the granddaughter. Just in case he took up with someone else and they lost out.
To keep the wife happy, the son had a word with his dad, who promised to put the flat in the granddaughter’s name.
So poor Margaret (that’s her name now) had to move in with them. It *should’ve* been nice—fresh air, the countryside, family. But her husband didn’t mope for long. Soon enough, another woman came along. Still no divorce, though.
The wife kept making life miserable for her. Shouting, even raising her hand sometimes. The granddaughter started copying her mum’s awful behaviour. Margaret finally snapped and demanded her son take her back home.
He rang his father, but he outright refused—already had his new lady moving in. The daughter and wife insisted Nan live *somewhere else*. So he decided to put her in a care home.
My neighbour found out—turns out she’d known Margaret for years. Felt so sorry for her that she arranged for the son to bring her to *her* place instead. He promised to send money regularly. Told her to ring him whenever.
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So he dropped her off. Seemed happy enough with the arrangements. Said he’d visit often. Well—we’ll see, won’t we? That’s how it goes sometimes—someone else ends up looking after family that their own kin can’t be bothered with. Where else was she supposed to go? Life’s like a boomerang—what goes around comes around. You should *look after* your parents.
Be kind. Be decent. Treat your family right.
