I’d known her my entire life. We’d lived in the same town since I was born. Her parents had 6 children and their family was one of those “upper-middle” class, so to speak. Eventually, all the children grew up and had their own family. The second-oldest, my friend, unlike her siblings, was married into a poor family. (When I say “poor”, think really really really poor). Her family didn’t explicitly alienate her or her own family, but their actions clearly implicate otherwise. In their family gatherings, you could see how all her siblings’ children were dressed, and treated much nicer than her daughter by her parents and siblings. Her daughter was mostly ignored. No-one really tried talking to her or asking how she was doing.
Whenever a friend was working overtime and wanted to drop her daughter at her parents for a few hours, their parents would either say they were busy or say outright they didn’t want to do it. And the daughter usually end up staying with me. For what it’s worth, the daughter was one of those very smart kid.
One of the heart-breaking moments I witnessed was one Christmas morning, when they gathered at the tree for opening presents. The grandparents would give every grandchild a present. Other kids were getting either toys or beautiful coats. My friend’s daughter, on the other hand, got one single rubber headband. Another heart-aching scene was when her siblings’ family gathered for a road trip, which she could not afford because she didn’t have the money and because she was working at the time. The daughter, whom I was babysitting, would beg me to let her go to her grandparents’ house whether the other family gathered before departing for the trip, just so she’d know and feel the exciting atmosphere of people about to go on vacation! I almost cried seeing her standing on the road waving them off and asking me to tell her what it was like to do a road trip! Not long later, my friend, unfortunately, passed away due to an accident at work. I could not believe how life could be so cruel, especially to the daughter!
I feel sad for her daughter. I am certain her childhood had an impact on who she is today. Now she is a very quiet and reserved person. There’s always that sad look in her eyes. But to everyone’s surprise, she has grown up to be a very successful (making 8-figure range salary) person, who is also fairly well known in her field. Her cousins, uncles and aunts are also much nicer to her now. They’d invite her to every single gathering and/or road trip they do. (A side note, she’s obviously the richest in her family now)
Funny and sad how powerful money can be!
The lesson of this story that we should have a good time with over Friends because true friends meet once, only a good friend can help in a bad time.
"A good friend is like a four leaf color, hard to find and lucky to have
You must be logged in to post a comment.