My Mom's Caregiver Notes

A simple and heart-wrenching realistic short story. The story begins with the embarrassment at the class reunion. The daughter feels inferior because of her mother's career as a caregiver. She is embarrassed and hopes that her mother will find a decent job. And the worn-out nurse's notebook revealed the mother's unknown softness and burden. The notebook is not only a record of care, but also a meticulous consideration for the patient: remembering the elderly's dietary preferences, setting up the mobile phone for the grandmother who misses the wanderer, being considerate of the sensitivity of chemotherapy patients, and bidding farewell to the elderly who died alone. Hidden between the lines is the kindness of the lower-class workers, as well as the silent concern of the mother: advance wages to collect materials for her daughter, secretly saving money to prepare a dowry for her daughter, noticing that her daughter is being laughed at by others, and the tears she writes are full of grievances and accommodations. There is no intense conflict, just the dull pain of life. The mother earned her daughter's university education with her own hands. She did not steal or rob her work, but she had to endure the prejudice of the world. The daughter's shame, the mother's forbearance, and the embarrassment of ordinary people's lives are all condensed in an old notebook. After reading this, people will understand: dignity is never given by career, but by serious living and sincerity and kindness itself.