When Caring for Aging Parents Brings Back Sibling Tensions
When my mother's health was failing, I was the "bad" sister who lived far away and wasn't involved. My sister helped my parents. She never asked me to do anything, and I didn't volunteer. I was widowed, raising kids and working, but that wasn't really why I kept to weekly calls and short, infrequent visits. I was stuck in my adolescent role as the aloof achiever, defending myself from my judgmental mother and other family craziness. As always, I deflected my sister's digs about my not being around more — and I didn't hear her rising desperation. It wasn't until my mom's funeral, watching my dad and sister cling to each other and weep, that I got a hint of their long ordeal — and how badly I'd screwed up.
My sister was so furious, she barely spoke to me during my father's last years. Honest, I'm not a terrible person. So how did I get it so wrong?
Read more: http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1955601,00.html#ixzz0dlFk7OLg
My sister was so furious, she barely spoke to me during my father's last years. Honest, I'm not a terrible person. So how did I get it so wrong?
Read more: http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1955601,00.html#ixzz0dlFk7OLg
