The change at 17

We celebrated our mum's birthday last Saturday at my second sister's house. Everyone was there without fail. Every year my elder brother will call and all will answer. We've only our mother now. My dad passed away when I was 17 years old. In a way, I felt that all my brothers and sisters changed after that... Me too. We became super independent. I think it is a mask that all of us wear after dad's demise. Dad was the center of our lives back then, and when he left, our pillar fell. All of us went through a period of silence and deep thinking. At the end, we all walked out of it . We were never close to dad's relatives, or you can say, our relatives. Just too different from them. No, we're not proud people. Dad did not bring us up this way. Dad was more concern with our ability to survive in the world. Dad was practical. We all, in a way made it, I'm sure dad is proud.