The Cheerleader

A Conversation with Mum.

I stopped in front of the shelves with the tins of tomatoes and I could not settle for which to choose- chopped or whole skinned. I was on the phone with my mother.

Typically my children would accompany me grocery shopping. It was liberating to be alone to shop and talk.

“Mum, I am tired,” I said. “I don’t think this environment, this country is meant for me, meant for people like me, I can’t cope any longer,” I complained, dropping the tin of chopped tomatoes into my basket. An older man made his way past me…