Every morning at 5:00 AM, my mother was already awake. Not to peace, but to pressure. She cooked, she served, she endured constant criticism from her mother-in-law no matter how hard she tried. When others defended her, it only made things worse. Yet she kept going, walking on eggshells in her own home, never breaking.
Every morning at 5:00 AM, while everyone else was sleeping, my mother was already awake. This was how her day started—not with peace, but with stress and hard work.
Her first task was to cook breakfast for my grandfather before he started his long day as a taxi driver. But no matter how hard she tried or how well she cooked, her mother-in-law always found a reason to scold and criticize her.
By 2:00 PM, the rush started again. My father and grandfather both drove taxis on split shifts. They would come home for a quick break, and my mother always had fresh lunch and dinner ready on time before they rushed back out for their second shift.
The cooking was tiring, but the emotional bullying was much worse.
My grandmother loved to scold my mother and complain about her to my father. My father was understanding and tried his best to help. He would quietly ask his mother to stop. Sometimes, my grandfather heard the scolding and would shout at his wife to leave my mother alone.
But this only made things worse. When my grandmother got scolded by her husband, her pride was hurt. Instead of stopping, she took all her anger out on my mother later. It was a trap. The more people tried to defend my mother, the more she suffered when they were not looking.
Living like this meant my mother was always walking on eggshells in her own home. Yet, she kept going. My mother’s story shows her amazing strength. She went through so much unfair treatment, but she kept her head high and took care of her family through it all.