When we were young, children seemed to be the flowers of life that everyone talks about. It was so good to raise the little ones in the village house, and we had a big family – two daughters and two sons. Everyone was always making noise and talking at breakfast; it was even louder at dinner. Some were at school, some were at home; some had moved to the neighboring village, and some went to the city to look for a better life. Still, my wife and I never felt lonely. The children used to call and visit often, but over the years things have changed.
After the stroke, my wife no longer gets out of bed, is confined to it, can’t go into town, and the kids don’t want to visit us at all. I am old now, and I could use the help of my sons or sons-in-law with the same firewood, but no one is coming.
The only time I decided to go into town to see my daughter, because it wasn’t that far away, and in order to hire someone to look after my wife, feed her, and so on, I had to sell my chainsaw. I used the money to pay for a “nurse,” bought a ticket to town, and wanted to bring my daughter something as well. Neither she nor my son-in-law were happy about my visit. My grandson is only five, he doesn’t understand much yet, but when he ran out to meet me and hug me, he started plugging his nose with his fingers and saying that I reeked of “selon. I’m afraid they would have sent me home that night if I hadn’t given them the money.
That’s how I came to my family, but I also paid for their accommodation… My son-in-law drove me to the train station a day later, so although I saved money on the nurse by paying her less, it hurt my children’s attitude. Our birds are scattered, they have no time for their parents. I am very afraid that they would not then be in the same position as my wife and I – their children, too, may go far away, not call, not to visit, and only think about the money.
