Only because in my sense of injury and feelings of outrage, I wrote a piece that might sound callous towards children with progressive illnesses not of the psychiatric variety.
Please do not think that I am. My sister died of cancer. Several friends did, too. They were not children but they were far, far too young.
My heart goes out to anyone who suffers from a life-threatening illness of any sort. Hey, I even feel sadness for those of us dealing with chronic illnesses. They can suck, too. I speak from unfortunate experience.
So, please forgive me if that last post came out the wrong way.
Just another reason not to pick up pen or keyboard until properly cooled off.
I don't think your post came off as callous to anyone.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the reassurance, Laurel! Appreciate it. I don't always trust myself. ;)
DeleteI don't think it did either, Deb. and I agreed with everything you said.
ReplyDeleteI think you have every right to be pissed. In my own family, a younger male relative would frequently say, 'Mom, I'm dead...' which would send his (exceedingly immature & very self-centered) mother into a conniption fit. Not only did he not receive help then, but in grade school a friend killed himself. Third grader. So instead of giving him extra positive attention, his mother dropped him off with a relative to raise because her boyfriend of 2 weeks didn't want him. He changed from a very sensitive sweet little boy to a sullen, defiant, hell-to-live-with angsty horrid monster. He was struggling with his emerging homosexuality, and became even more difficult to manage. If you told him to put a sheet on his bare mattress? 'Why should I have to. It's my bed.' Omg, and flushing the toilet? 'I don't think I should have to.' Get up & go to school, please.... 'No.' It took a year long stay in a home for consistently truant children to get him to even go to school at all. (when he was little, he was in the gifted program. He went on to never graduate High School.) Now he is a 33 year old alcoholic who has burned more bridges than most people have ever heard of, has the most obnoxious entitlement complex imaginable, and a mother who decided she was wrong many many years too late; thus enabling him to never grow up and be a responsible person who can function normally in society. Mental health issues affect ENTIRE families!!!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Anon. So sorry about your relative's struggles. I appreciate your reaching out, and hope things get better.
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