The motives behind this elderly woman’s behavior was, quite simple, actually, she just wanted to feel good about herself! Translated…
I’d gone home to visit, as I’d just parked the car in the alley, my mother’s neighbor, Mrs. Liu came out to greet me, “Are you planning on taking your mom somewhere during the summer? Next week, Feng is taking me on a cruise, to Okinawa for five days!”, before I had the opportunity to answer her, she’d started, ranting about the itinerary to me.
Actually, this wasn’t the first time that I got, “carjacked” by Mrs. Liu like this, she’d often stopped me as I was headed into my mother’s home, then shared with me her “happy notes”. For instance, Feng’s husband knew she had arthritis, and had brought a specialty oil for massage from Germany, and it’d, cured her aches, and she’d handed me an empty bottle for me to take a note of it. Or that as a member of the Lion’s Club, Feng had taken her out to dine with a bunch of rich ladies, she would tell me all about how delicious the foods were, then, handed me the business card, and told me to take my mother there to try it out.
I’d remembered, how every time after the exams, Mrs. Liu would always ask me about the grades I’d made, and if Feng, who was in the same grades had done better, she’d, raised her eyebrows, and told me what Feng had made on her exams; and if not, she’d frowned, then, turned back inside, and started, cursing at Feng, and I’d felt so guilty, that I’d, thrown her under the bus.
After I married, Feng and her husband were busying in their careers, and because they were very busy, they’d not made the time to visit Mrs. Liu, wasn’t like how I had, nothing better to do, I’d returned back to my mother’s home every week. I’m thinking, that Mrs. Liu who’s very competitive didn’t want to pale by comparison to my mother, so she’d let me know, that although Feng didn’t come home enough, but, she’d, given her a ton of materialistic things.
And, the reason why Mrs. Liu loved me as an audience was because, I’d always told herd, “Wow, you’re, so blessed to have such wonderful children.”, and this usually made her day, after she’d shared her days with me, and after my conclusions, she’d always carried that satisfied smile, and headed back into her home.
Although, Mrs. Liu’s way of doing things isn’t at all pleasant, but after I’d gotten used to her style, and understood where she was coming from, I’d always kept my patience, and hear her finish, and gave her a positive reply. Because, if this can make an elderly woman who’s close to eighty, who’s my mother’s neighbor happy, then, why not?
And so, from this interaction, you can see how much company this elderly woman was longing for, but she doesn’t get it, and so, she’d, started, pouring her heart out at her neighbor’s daughter who’d visited her mother often, and it’s more important to spend more time with your loved ones, than giving them the materialistic BULLSHITS to show you cared for them!