2 Days To Go

While I'm looking forward to a new life in Australia, a nagging worry is always present in my mind. I'm the only child. So many will criticise my decision to leave. To "abandon" them. I don't think anyone will ever understand why. Not unless they have to live with them. Afterall, they were, no matter how small the percentage is, part of the reason why my ex left. To be honest, I'm not worried about my parents. I'm only worried about the problems they'll inflict on my relatives. Yes, they're that bad.

We paid a visit to my uncle last night. On Monday, hubs had to leave the house just so he doesn't explode in their faces. After 3 decades with them, I've become so indifferent to their actions & behaviour. But not either of my husbands. So even though I don't feel comfortable coming clean with my uncle & aunt (my dad's younger brother & wife), I agreed to it. They sort of guessed the reason why we requested the meeting. I was horrified to find that my mom borrowed money from my aunt a few days before she borrowed from my uncle during Sunday's dinner.

Welcome to my dysfunctional household. I said household becoz that's what we are. We're not exactly a family. Just a flat housing 2 sets of couples. My aunt said that my ex is normal becoz he left. There's no way anyone can stand to stay with my parents. She knew it was only a matter of time before we left too & we proved her right. I've quarrelled so many times, not just with my ex but also with my current husband over my parents.

It's a long story, but to sum it up, it's all about the money. Or rather, the lack of it. When I was a kid, my dad used to earn 3k a month unloading container shipments. In those days, that's a lot of income when everyone else is earning $400 a month. Then they made a profit of 100k when they sold their flat. If he had not squandered it all, they can really retire comfortably now. It's not just my dad of course. My mom played her part in it.

Anyway, they don't have money at all now, my dad refused to go to work, happy with being a leech. I refused to give them money becoz it just get squandered away. Instead, I pay for all household expenses. They should have more than enough to get by with the monthly CPF payouts. But the moment they have money on hand, they spend it all away.

Maybe it doesn't sound that bad when I put it down this way. But this is just the tip of the iceberg. These are my thoughts as we're down to 2 days before departure. We all leave for different reasons. Many a times, it's a whole multitude of reasons. In the end, we're all in search for the happiness that seems to elude us.