
06/25/2025
MY BROTHER FORBADE ME FROM GIVING THE SPEECH AT OUR MOM'S FUNERAL BECAUSE "NO ONE WANTS TO HEAR FROM THE ADOPTED ONE"
Our mom passed away after a two-year battle with cancer. Two years of chemo, silent doctors, late-night ER visits, and pain that slowly took her voice.
And through it all, I was there. Every single day. I moved into her house. Cooked the bland meals she could stomach. Helped her bathe. Held her trembling hands in hospice.
My brother, Mark? He visited twice. Once on her birthday. Once for five minutes after she entered hospice — just long enough to say, "I can't handle seeing her like this," and leave.
The morning of the funeral, I wore the dress Mom picked out for me months ago. I was ready for a speech I'd rehearsed a hundred times. It wasn't just a eulogy. It was a goodbye.
But just before the service began, Mark pulled me aside on the church steps.
"Hey," he said, voice tight. "You should sit this one out."
I blinked. "What?"
He looked around, lowered his voice.
"No one wants to hear from the adopted one. The speech should come from real family."
I felt the blood drain from my face. He'd never said it before. Not even as kids.
I just nodded and sat down.
He gave his eulogy. A few childhood stories, some lines about "how much Mom meant to all of us." People clapped politely.
But then came the moment when everyone gasped. One of the hospice nurses walked over and handed him an envelope. ⬇️