(580) Jealousy

I went visiting with my mother. She has a friend who brought up six children as a widow. Five of those children are married and live away from her. That is the normal state of affairs. The strange part is that the unattached youngest son chose to live in a company hostel (which is not far from where the mother lives). This old lady lives alone in a house bought by her third daughter.

By now I recognize the pattern: a difficult old woman would automatically see the nearest child as the worst of the lot. No matter how good the offspring is to her, she would expect more as she is totally self-centered. Therefore the one who lives the furthest away would undeniably be the best of all her children. True to form, I heard her praising her eldest daughter, who lives in another town, for buying a large amount of health products for her consumption. While she said little about her third daughter who visits her often, even though it is the latter who takes care of her daily expenses.

The most interesting part came when I commented that her third daughter moved into a lovely detached house. Her countenance altered immediately! She looked like an ancient witch who was angered. Yet I thought I said nothing wrong. I merely complimented her third daughter's new home. She disagreed and stated that the daughter's old house was nicer; at least the rooms were bigger. I kept quiet, it is not smart to argue with an elderly person. Much later I brought up this little segment of the conversation with my mom. Could it be that she was jealous of her daughter living in a better house than hers?

My mom and I walked around the neighborhood and admired all the vegetables and flowers the old lady planted. She planted in five little plots of back yards her neighbors are not using. We looked at her beautifully stitched patch work quilts. Every one of her cushions were covered by painstaking patched together pieces of cloth she salvaged from her factory. We spent hours looking at photographs taken of her visits to many parts of the world. Bearing in mind that she used to tap rubber trees, rear pigs, clean factories and houses, she has been definitely more successful than many people who are from economically higher spheres. But sad to say, all that enterprise and success does not make her an easier person to live with. I doubt I would ever desire to visit her of my own accord. It is not true that I dislike her! I just do not have any special liking for her.