FROM THE EDITOR'S PEN / A
Family Affair
/
Editorial List
Gary:
I have recently moved 1200 miles to
return to my home state and take care of my elderly
parents. I have one sibling who makes NO effort to
contribute to the overall cause of caring for and enriching
the lives of our parents. He refuses to discuss any
"problem" he might possibly have with me personally at an
appropriate time (in private vs. in public) rather than in
front of my parents and medical staff. I don't have a
problem getting along with any of my other five siblings;
they appreciate me for being here. As one of my parents
doctors put it: "There's one in every family."
Regards,
Liz
Liz,
I am sorry about the situation you have
with your one sibling, but you do have five other helpful
siblings, which is quite a rare blessing. You may just want
to let the sibling in question have what he seems to be
looking for and leave him out of the decision-making loop.
Sometimes a family member’s greatest contributions can be by
actually doing nothing. Your best move might be to focus on
the efforts of the rest of your family members who do want
to help and be thankful for their efforts.
I would suggest you read the following
articles pertaining to what we call “The
Reverse Gift List” and
Long Distance Caring.
Remember to take care of yourself, too.
Gary Barg
Editor-in-Chief
gary@caregiver.com
