Holding Cynthia in my heart

Most of you don’t know that I have a sister who is mentally ill. She is 50 years old. Since being a baby she showed endless signs of how she was wired differently  by the way she related to others and her family; by her reactions to frustration; by the way she processed experiences and her tendencies to boicot her own progress. By avoiding help when offered; by confronting coworkers and hiding in her own world.

I regret so much we were not able to see there was so much more than “being the difficult sibling “ then.

Reality hit us strong when several years ago she had a psychotic episode that forced the family to take her to a Hospital and keep her there for treatment for a while.

Since then, the road has been painful, stressful, sad and challenging mostly for my parents who take care of her at home.
My dad, 77 years old, works endlessly still to make ends meet and cover for her medical expenses and livelihood.
I feel torn being so far geographically and not being able to help with the daily struggles.

My birthday is approaching and my wish is to lessen a bit at least the monetary responsibilities that worry them so much.
(they don’t know I’m doing this) If you feel called to send me a tiny gift for my bday I’ll be so very grateful to use it for this cause!

“To pay attention. That is our proper and endless work.”
Mary Oliver