Under One Roof

There are mothers who find it hard to express their love for their child(ren). My grandmother’s like that. Her bitterness over her marriage’s painful breakdown was evident over the way she treated my mom. Through the years, I never saw her show my mom love. I never heard her say anything nice to her. She showered, and still does shower, us affection, my siblings and I. But never toward my mom. It was the bitter fact that my mom looked so much like her dad. That’s the only explanation we could glean from the bad treatment my grandmother gave my mom throughout her life.

But you know, looking back, there were instances that my grandma had shown her love, albeit in weird ways. She cried during those times my mom got hospitalized. She financed several of it. She’s accepted my dad even though he’s lower in status than them. And when my mom was diagnosed with a rare kidney disease, my grandma blamed herself for being busy with earning a living and leaving my mom with her grandfather and aunts. It was a roundabout way of showing her love but it’s there.

I guess my grandma is one of those mothers who doesn’t know how to express her love towards her only child. Are you like that? Or are you like my mom who was treated differently by her own mom for years?