Losing My Mother
My name is Nefissa and there are two of me. There is the Nefissa I used to be before she died and the Nefissa I became post death. I lost my mother, Miriam a year ago. She was 62 years old and I was 34 years old. She suffered from agoraphobia.
The last time she actually left the apartment was eight years prior to her mother’s death. When my grandmother, Zoila passed; that was the last time my mother stepped out of the apartment. She stayed inside the apartment for nine years straight.
Two years before my mother passed she fell on the floor and being a heavy set woman in her 60’s she couldn’t pick herself up off the floor. My sister was there and she called my brother to come over and help her.
The first six months; she did struggle but she walked around the house. The last year and a half of her life she decided that she didn’t need to walk anymore so my brother and I took daily turns cleaning and feeding her. One day she took an afternoon nap and never woke up.
I come from a family that is overweight on both sides.I used to be a big eater. Since her passing I have lost weight. I no longer receive sheer pleasure from the eating process. Another way I have changed is that I no longer assume that my family will always be there. I don’t feel the need to get into senseless debates or arguments with family members because I understand the…
