Take your time.

Thank you.

I sat there looking at her, lying there.

I sat there looking at her, lying there helpless and dying.

This strong woman, my whole life, was now weak, vulnerable and ready.

I fought back tears.

I don't know if you can hear me and maybe all this is pointless, but I feel like I should say something, right?

I should.

Maybe this is the time that I can finally get things off my chest.

I mean, you have to listen now, right?

You have to let me say what I want to say.

I gave up a lot for you, Mom.

I gave up everything and when you got sick, I gave up even more.

More than I didn't know I had.

Sometimes you can just be so overbearing and I put up with it.

Why? Because you're my mother.

I don't know what changed for you after that night, but I could tell you what changed for me.

I didn't have a dad anymore.

And you may have picked up the slack, but you ended up making things harder for me.

And I'll never understand why, because we both lost something when dad left.

Both of us.

Instead of coming down on me, you could have helped.

...