З життя
Дети забыли меня: помогите или я все продам и отправлюсь в дом престарелых
Было время, когда сердце моё разрывалось от горя и одиночества. Устала я сражаться одна, в то время как взрослые дети, ради которых жизнь свою положила, даже не вспоминали обо мне. Вынуждена была поставить им условие: либо помощь от них, либо продам всё и уеду в дом престарелых — там хоть присмотрят за старухой.
Мы с покойным супругом, Михаилом Ильичом, всю себя отдали детям — сыну Вадиму и дочери Галине. Они были нашим светом в окошке, долгожданными, выстраданными. Себя не жалели, лишь бы у них были лучшие игрушки, одежда, образование. Может, и баловали их сверх меры, но разве можно винить нас за это? Ведь мы лишь хотели дать им то, чего сами в молодости не имели.
Лучшие учителя, престижный университет в Петербурге, поездки за границу — всё оплачивали мы с Михаилом. Гордилась тогда нашей семьёй, считала её крепкой, нерушимой. Трудились, не покладая рук, чтобы дети ни в чём не знали нужды. Верила, что они оценят нашу жертвенность.
Но когда Галя вышла замуж и ждала ребёнка, мир мой рухнул: Михаил скоропостижно скончался от разрыва сердца. Еле пережила эту потерю — он был моей опорой, моей второй половиной. Но держалась ради дочери, знала, что ей нужна поддержка. Отдала Галине родительскую квартиру в самом центре Нижнего Новгорода. А когда Вадим женился — передала ему двушку, что осталась от свекрови. Дети получили кров, но документы на недвижимость переоформлять не спешила.
В прошлом году вышла на пенсию. Пора бы и раньше, но тянула до последнего. В семьдесят четыре года ещё работала, не хуже молодых справлялась. Но здоровье стало сдавать: суставы скрипели, сердце пошаливало. Чувствовала, как жизнь потихоньку уходит из рук.
Старший внук, Игорь, уже в школу ходит, а у Вадима недавно родился малыш. Раньше помогала с Игорем, но теперь сил не было. Да и не просили меня. А самой справляться становилось всё тяжелее. Звонила детям, просила хоть немного помочь — привезти продукты, убраться… Но в ответ только отговорки: работа, дела, усталость.
Виделась с ними лишь по праздникам. В остальное время — одна, с бытом сражалась, скрипя зубами от боли. Как-то упала на кухне, не смогла подняться. Если бы не соседка Вера, что скорую вызвала, так бы и осталась лежать на холодном полу. В больнице ждала, что дети придут, но услышала только: «Мама, мы на работе, не можем». Когда выписывали, попросила Галю забрать, а она холодно бросила: «Возьми такси, ты же не ребёнок».
Тогда я решилась. Обратилась в соцзащиту, попросила найти хороший пансионат для пожилых, узнать цены. Устала быть обузой, устала от чёрствого равнодушия. Хоть там за мной будут смотреть.
Когда дети наконец приехали, собрала всю волю и сказала: «Или помогаете, или продаю квартиры и ухожу в дом престарелых. Денег хватит». Галя вспыхнула: «Ты что, шантажируешь нас? Хочешь оставить без жилья? У нас кредиты, дети, проблемы, а ты лишь о себе думаешь!» Резанули её слова, как ножом. Всё им отдала, а стакан воды принести — не могут?
Больно было слышать такое, но их равнодушие только укрепило мою решимость. Я и не прошу многого — хоть каплю внимания, хоть толику заботы… Но выводов они не сделали. Не хочу доживать век в четырёх стенах, чувствуя себя лишней. Не знаю, что будет дальше, но другого выхода не вижу. Пусть звучит это как угроза, но это мой последний шанс на достойную старость.
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Weve sold you the house. Were entitled to stay for a week, declared the former owners. It was 1975, and...
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So, listen, for about a year now my sons been living with this girl, Emily, but wed never met her...
– Needless to Say, This Is All My Fault! – My Boyfriend’s Sister Sobs. – I Never Imagined Something Like This Could Happen! And Now I Have No Idea What to Do Next. I Don’t Even Know How to Handle This Without Losing Face. My Boyfriend’s Sister Got Married a Few Years Ago. After the Wedding, It Was Decided the Newlyweds Would Live with the Husband’s Mother. His Parents Have a Spacious Three-Bedroom Flat and Only One Son. – I’ll Keep One Room, and the Rest Is Yours! – Promised the Mother-in-Law. – We’re All Well-Mannered People, So I’m Sure We’ll Get Along Just Fine. – We Can Always Move Out! – The Husband Assured His Wife. – I Don’t See Anything Wrong in Trying to Live with My Mum. If It Doesn’t Work, We Can Always Get Our Own Place…. That’s Exactly What Happened. As It Turned Out, Living Together Was Quite the Challenge. Both Daughter-in-Law and Mother-in-Law Tried, but Things Got Worse Each Day. Resentments Built Up and Arguments Became More Frequent. – You Said If We Couldn’t Get Along, We’d Move Out! – Cried the Wife. – Well, Haven’t We Managed So Far? – His Mother Smiled Condescendingly. – These Are Little Things, and It’s Not Worth Packing Up and Leaving Over Them. Exactly a Year After the Wedding, His Wife Became Pregnant and Gave Birth to a Healthy Son. The Arrival of the Grandchild Coincided with the Mother-in-Law Quitting Her Old Job and Struggling to Find New Work, as Employers Hesitated to Hire Someone Approaching Retirement. The Daughter-in-Law and Mother-in-Law Had to Spend All Day Together, Neither Having Anywhere Else to Go, and Tensions at Home Only Grew. Her Husband Simply Shrugged and Listened to Their Complaints, as He Was the Sole Breadwinner. – We Can’t Just Leave Mum Right Now—She Has No Income. I Can’t Leave Her on Her Own, and I Can’t Afford to Support Her and Rent a Flat for Us. Once She Finds Something, We’ll Move Out! But the Young Woman’s Patience Wore Thin. She Packed Up Her Things, and Her Son’s, and Moved Back in with Her Own Mum. She Told Her Husband She’d Never Set Foot in His Mother’s House Again, and If He Cared About Family, He’d Have to Sort Something Out. She Was Sure Her Beloved Would Try Everything to Bring Them Back Together. But She’d Judged Wrong. It’s Been Over Three Months Since She Moved Out, and Her Husband Hasn’t Tried to Win Her Back. He Still Lives with His Mum, Talks to His Wife and Child on Video after Work, and Visits Them on Weekends at His Mother-in-Law’s House. He Gets the Care and Attention of Two Women at Once; the Parent Gets Sympathy for Her Son, Left with an Angry Wife, and Doesn’t Have to Deal with the Child at All. The Husband Has It Made! And the Mother-in-Law Hasn’t Really Lost Anything, Either! The Young Woman Is Far from Happy with This Situation. She Loves Her Husband Very Much, Though She Knows He’s Not Doing the Right Thing. – What Did You Expect When You Left? – He Asks. – You Can Always Come Back If You Want. It’s Unlikely the Wife Plans to Leave Her Own Mum or Rent a Flat. The Woman, Now on Maternity Leave, Just Can’t Afford It. Is This Really the End of the Family? Do You Think She Still Has Any Chance of Going Back to Her Mother-in-Law’s House Without Losing Her Dignity?
Needless to say, this is all my fault! my mates sister sobbed. I could never have imagined things would turn...
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