Growing up, my mother’s excessive frugality and obsession with saving money created a rift between us. Despite our comfortable lifestyle, her relentless penny-pinching made me feel deprived and resentful. My father, on the other hand, was my rock, and his untimely death when I was seventeen left me heartbroken.
My relationship with my mother continued to deteriorate, and I couldn’t forgive her for draining my college fund. I felt betrayed and hurt, and our already strained relationship became even more fractured.
Years later, after my mother’s passing, I stumbled upon her diary. As I read through its pages, I discovered a shocking truth that would change my perspective forever. My mother had been hiding a secret, one that explained her behavior and actions. My father, it turned out, had a hidden gambling addiction, and my mother had been working tirelessly to pay off his debts.