He didn’t complain.

Looking back, so many things happened but he did not complain. He managed. He smiled. He coped.

He could sense the slightest worry in my voice. When I spoke on the phone with a family member or friend he would ask me the reason for any phrase with an exclamation mark. He was very sensitive and he felt not only his own but other people’s pain deeply too.

When he was in primary school I found out about the bullying long after it had started. I discovered it accidentally when he mentioned his friend A, who always stood up for him when the others were being mean to him. When I spoke to his teacher about it she completely denied any knowledge of such goings on. That also meant that she would not do anything to stop it because it did not exist. It was a battle. When I would be visibly upset over anything, he would say, “Mamma, let it be.”

He didn’t complain.

Looking back, so many things happened but he did not complain. He managed. He smiled. He coped. For as long as he could.