Being McKenzie Prince ✔

Dear Diary

In the sixteen years that I have been alive I have attended twenty five funerals, five weddings and two christenings. It was not that I actually really knew any of the people, except for when we attended my grandmother's funeral.

What can I say other than the fact that my mother has always known where to get free food? According to each and everyone else attending these events we were distant family and most of the times no one even realized that we were there.

One of the first funerals I attended was my grandmother on my mother's side.

After my father passed away my mother thought that maybe she could attempt to rebuild the bridge between her and her family. She tried to get closer to them again, but they would not have any of it. When my grandmother passed away no one even bothered to let my mother know. No one even thought about inviting my mother to the funeral. She was no longer part of the family.

My mother thought that the funeral would be the perfect opportunity to drown her sorrows in a bottle of Jack Daniels and to crash the funeral.

The second we walked into the church everyone turned their heads and looked at us. My mother had fallen face first into the church because she was intoxicated. Everyone whispered and laughed at her. Some people looked at us like we were trash. My mother's sister, Aunt Alexa, walked towards us and she pulled my mother out of the church by grabbing onto her arm. We were hopelessly dragged along.

"What do you think you are doing here?" Aunt Alexa had a funny accent. It sounded highly English or that is what my mother would tell us when we were alone. My mother's whole family was actually English, but my father's family was Afrikaans.

My mother pulled her arm out of Aunt Alexa's grip.

"She was my mother too!!! I have a right to be here!" My mother said a string of curse words.

"No you do not. You left us Allyson, not the other way around."

"Mom kicked me out!"

"If you are here to find out whether or not mom left you anything in her will, I will save you the agony of having to sit through her whole funeral. You got nothing. You and your b#$@ children can leave!"

That was the last time I saw any of my mother's family.

It must be extremely painful to have your whole family turn against you.

A mother is supposed to care about you, to love you unconditionally, to stand up for you no matter what.

At least that is what I think according to the books I have read about the kinds of things that mothers are meant to be.