Life as We Know It

chapter four: parents

My mother was the most supportive in my family, she was also the most caring. My father, however, often felt irate at my condition and me.

They are also against themselves, frequently. They fight, argue, and just forget to love. They think I don't see them fighting or hear them when they think I've gone to sleep, but I do; I hear every hurtful and disgusting word.

My parents were my saviors and anchors growing up, and now, I can't even tell if  they love each other.

My parents met when they were twenty five. My mom had me when she was twenty-seven.

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I grew up to have long dirty blonde hair and green eyes. My mother always told me that my eyes were like earth sprouting from them and my hair was like the clouds, whisking away. I was told by my parents that I was a chubby baby, who laughed a lot and always smiled.

Now, only certain things make me have the slighted of a smile.

My parents took me shopping, after I got diagnosed and my hair started to fall, and I got a brown wig that hung over my shoulders. It was different and took some time  getting used too, but in the end it was a good change.

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After my family found out, they threw me a giant party in my hospital bed. They sent me flowers, balloons, and cards, wishing for me to feel better. I was still in the process of recovering from that week of treatment when they visited, so I was very weak. My family is very big, so about six or seven people came to visit me, everyday.

My doctor, only let three or four people, including my mom and dad in the room at the same time; I thanked him each night for that while he was doing my blood pressure. After three weeks of constant visits, visits started to calm down and after a while, only my mother and father were there.

My sister visited me, only twice in those six months. She stayed with me, the first night and told me about how beautiful New York was and her life in the Hamptons. The second time, however, she stayed with my parents.

Her bedroom was still there, unoccupied and empty. She brought me homemade food; which was approved by my doctor to eat, and watched movies with me.

My grandmother, visited me almost everyday after she found out and sent me cards and balloons. When she wasn't there, she was taking care of my great-grandfather. My friends didn't bother to see me in the hospital, nor did they ask why I was there.