Cutting off a family member is hard.

Oftentimes, it's very easy to give a swift answer to a question, but executing the act practically can be a problem. When I saw this prompt(whether we could cut off a family member), I wanted to say that it’s very ideal for a person to cut down some flesh of relationship with family members when they notice that the relationship is having a toll on them and drawing them back. But it’s not always easy to do that because we are humans, and some words are hard to say no matter how simple they are.

When we were growing up, a lot of people including, cousins, aunties, and uncles lived with us in the little-spaced house of my dad, and the craziest thing is that the house back then was just a room and parlour apartment. My dad is among the youngest of his late parents Yeah, my dad’s home, which is our house too, was so accommodating, and hey, it wasn’t easy. There was one of my uncles, though late now, who stayed with us for years, and he was the elder brother to my dad. I heard my dad and mom complain in silence because of his unaccommodating lifestyle, especially how he used his money for drinks and cigarettes but never brought food into the house.

My mom, being a woman, was mad at the situation, but she couldn’t utter a word too because she didn’t want to bring trouble. But honestly, instead, she exhibited her anger in little actions such as having slight-toned arguments with my dad. You know, it’s almost impossible for women to hide their emotions. The whole drama was visible; my uncle saw everything but wasn’t bothered, and to be very truthful, we(I and my siblings) started seeing that uncle as irresponsible as well. He was weighing down our livelihood, and peace was far from our house due to how tired my mom became of the situation. But she had her limitations too so that she wouldn’t be labeled a bad wife. Lol.

At that moment, the only thing that could solve the problem was to tell the uncle to leave, but my dad couldn’t just summon the courage because, blood bonded them together, and my dad had great regard for his family. Meanwhile, there were other siblings of my dad (uncles) whom no one dared to disturb due to how restrictive their lifestyle was.

In the end, this same uncle, out of newfound love he rekindled with his once cut-off wife, moved to stay with her, and years later, he died. I saw my dad shed tears

My immediate younger brother has been living with me for quite a while. He stayed with me all through his schooling, and although he does contribute to feeding to his capacity, there have been times I felt choked up, stuck, and overwhelmed, spending more and feeling like all my money has been going into feeding. But hey, I can’t come up with the idea of forcing him out even though it’s preached that we should put ourselves first. Cutting off a family member is hard. We just have to give situations time — a little more time — and things will eventually become normal.

Thanks For reading.

This is my entry to Week 186, Edition 01 of the Weekly Featured contest in Hive Learners Community

Image used is mine