A Reason to Live

We often hear in passionate love songs " you are my reason to live ". This post was inspired by the book i am reading, Pachinko by Min Jin Lee.

When she grew old, her nest grew empty. The routine of going to the office had stopped with her own retirement. The routine of cooking and cleaning had stopped with her only child leaving home to start an independent life.

Now there is no routine and nothing to do either.

What does the woman now have to look forward to? That one video call everyday? The one daily interaction with the caretaker who comes to cook and clean for her every morning?

She's got no interest in hobbies. These are, after all, selfish pursuits, and she has truly believed this all her life.

Why did she do it? Why had she cared for her child so much? Was it selflessness? All done for the sake of the child's well-being? To make her child independent and happy?

Or

Was it the most selfish act in the world? To give her own life meaning by making the child the object of her purposes? Now that there's no child, there's no purpose. Now what?

Now What?