**Diary Entry**
*Thursday, 12th October*
“Dont call me again! Why waste time on something you dont even care about? I realised long ago that neither you nor your children give a second thought about whether your grandmother is alive or well.
Graduating from university coincided with two major milestonesmy wedding and my first proper job. I started as a manager at a reputable firm in London. A few years later, I took maternity leave and gave birth to a beautiful daughter, Emily. She grew into a bright young woman, and my husband and I spared no expense sending her to Cambridge. After she graduated, my husband pulled a few strings to secure her a decent position.
A year later, she introduced us to her fiancé, married him, and later had twinsmy darling granddaughters.
They were eight when their grandfathermy husbandpassed away. It was a devastating loss for all of us. Emily understood how hard it was for me, so shed ring me every evening after work, chatting about her day while I shared mine.
But then, she grew busier. When I called, shed make excusestoo much cleaning, or she was just stepping out. Eventually, her calls dwindled to once every few days, and even those felt performativehalf-hearted chatter while she multitasked. One day, my patience snapped. When she rang, I snapped:
If you havent got time for your own mother, dont bother calling. Why ring me just to do something else at the same time?
She brushed it off, and I apologised. After that, she called a little more oftenuntil it slipped back to once a week.
Her indifference gnawed at me. I barely ate or slept. The final straw came when she didnt ring for a whole week and ignored my calls. So, when she finally did, I shouted:
Dont call me again! Why waste time pretending to care? Its clear neither you nor my granddaughters give a toss whether Im alive or not. You only want homemade pies and birthday chequesthats all!
She lashed out, calling me selfish and vowing never to call again. Her words hit me like a punch. My heart raced, everything went black, and I woke up in hospital.
The nurse listened to my story but shook her head at the end. You older folks forget, she said, that weve got careers, kids, homes to runits a wonder we remember to breathe, let alone chat for hours. You ought to treasure the moments we squeeze in, even if its just a quick call between errands. My advice? Find something to keep busy. That way, you wont notice the days slipping by between calls.
Shes right, of course. When youre doing what you love, you stop counting the hours between phone calls.”
