I just spent a day and a night with my sister. She came east to take our mother to her summer home. Like most sisters, we grew up together, and though we are only 2 years apart we are very different. As children, I always preferred blue everything, clothes, accessories, color of paint for my room and she was a purely pink girl. This was firmly established. In fact sometimes if I am shopping, and a salesperson shows me a pink dress or anything pink, I will say, “No, that one is for my sister.”

Several years ago, I began living with our mother. We all wanted her to be able to stay in her house. We agreed that she should not move to a smaller place or a retirement community.
This is a hard job, and very stressful emotionally.

My sister thinks I need a vacation. She said, “You need it more than you think you do.”

Haha!!!! No one and I really mean NO ONE knows it more than I. My nursing skills are depleted, that is true. Since I never had any in the first place, it really makes no difference. Without caregivers, living with Mother would have caused me to have a severe illness or insanity. Some people can cope with dementia, and some cannot. Every day I am grateful for the caregivers that make her life so pleasant and give me back my own life.

But I love my sister. Even though we disagree on practically everything. We are so different in some ways, but when we both pulled out our phones, it reminded me of how tenacious family genes can be.

Copyright?. 2019 Bonnie B. Matheson