A Tale Of Two Siblings

I'd posted earlier that all of the Walker girls are visiting with us for what is now nearly three weeks.  While they got along well for about 10 days, Madison (15) and Reese (13) are now at odds with each other - a common occurrence when they lived together and between siblings in general.  I had a brief discussion with each of them about sibling relationships then decided to send them a short story to think about - if not now, perhaps will have a positive impact someday.  Thought I'd share it with you as well.

"There was once a five year old boy who was an only child and the apple of his parents and next door grandparents eyes, when along came a baby sister.  Whether it was the age difference or jealousy from the boy at losing his favored only child status, he and his sister didn’t have a lot to do with one another while growing up. 

Eventually the boy went off to build his life several hundred miles away, with a job and a family and the girl did the same but in the hometown.  As a result the boy and girl would see each other every year or so when the boy returned to visit with the parents.

The years passed and the boy and girl continued to see each other during these parental visits and their relationship could best be described as they were good acquaintances - they were never really friends.

When the boy was nearly 50, he realized that it might not be long before they were the only family members remaining and the he decided to reach out to the girl and she turned out to be receptive.  They had many long talks about their childhood, their lives, and their feelings for each other – the girl never liked the boy (he could be a jerk).  After a year or so of visits and phone calls the relationship continued to develop, they both liked what was happening between them, and both regretted the lost years they could have had together.

Then disaster struck as the girl was diagnosed with stage four cancer.  While the relationship was still good, it was hard to build much as the girl spent most of her time battling the disease, they lived 600 miles apart, and both had jobs.  The girl fought the disease for five years and the boy spent as much time with her as possible even moving her to his home for a few months at one point.

After the five years, the girl was about to lose the battle and as the boy was lamenting the lost time with her, the girl replied “no regrets big brother, these last few years have been great between us.”  After this and the loss of their mother with things left undone and words left unsaid, the boy decided he would never again lose a person important to him without keeping any relationship junk cleaned up at all times. 

I am that boy and the entire family is gone but me.  Oh the things I wish I could have redone."

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by Almost Heaven South.

Larry