Nasim Mama

My dad woke us up at 7 a.m. to tell us that our uncle, my mother's oldest brother, died. My Nasim Mama ("mama" is the Bengali term for your uncles on your maternal side of the family) had a lot of health problems. He has been in and out of hospital for a long time. He was the reason my mother finally went to Bangladesh last December, though, he seemed fine at that time. Out of my family in Bangladesh, he was the closest to me, thanks to e-mail. We'd email each other at least once a week, talking about school, family, etc.

He died around Tuesday night (Bangladesh time) of a stroke.

On the phone, while my mother talked to her sisters, she told them, "At least you were there with him," in between sobs. It made me think of the guilt she must feel for being here in the U.S. while her entire family is back in Bangladesh, struggling on practically nothing. She didn't get to spend enough time with her parents, sisters and brothers as someone should get to.

It's sad.