It’s Easter weekend soon, and Mum has time off. She would probably be at work if she could, but everyone has a few days holiday. This is meant to be time to spend together because we are alone. My dad and sister are gone abroad and it’s just us. Today she made a delicious salad, and I have been so good food wise. All week I have been so good. Eating like a normal person, purging and exercising minimally.
I have tried so hard to be normal, and for what?
She makes this salad, talks about losing weight, being together, painting the house, eating chocolate together, chatting…I even say that I’ll have a few drinks with her. When I’m drinking water with lemon in it she seems disappointed that I chose not to drink with her. I’m with her aren’t I?
She walks out the room half way through the film, half way through her salad. Comes back later, much later, drunker than before. She eats more salad, drops off to sleep. She sleeps through the rest of the film, and through the next one. She’s sleeping now. Whenever she is awake she’s slurring, her head drooping, her hands fumbling, dropping things.
I don’t know what I feel anymore. I don’t know whether I can afford to keep hoping that she’ll stop drinking. I don’t know whether I can take waiting any more. Every time she says she’ll stop drinking, there’s a “one last time” and I don’t think I can believe her anymore. There are too many “one last time”s. Hope isn’t really enough anymore, and I think that for a long time it’s only been a memory of how it felt to hope.
I want to help her, but she falls back, pushing away my outstretched hands. I end up just watching her stumble around, my heart breaking. I know that many people have worse parents; abusive parents. Mine don’t particularly neglect me, it isn’t even that. I think in many ways neglect would be better. No, instead I’m looking after her. Shouldering her tears. She rubs my shoulder as she cries, but I’m fine. She’s only doing it to feel like she’s the parent. To feel like she is in control, looking after me. It’s not true though, is it? None of it is true.