Godless Mom in the Bible Belt

Wednesday, June 08, 2005

Familial Duties and Conflict

My sister Jane and her husband will be arriving for a visit from Denver tonight so my posts may be hit and miss over the next few days.

Jane's immune system is out of whack due to her chemotherapy treatments so I've spent the last few days spraying all non-porous surfaces with Lysol and wiping everything down with Clorox (see post below regarding my deficiencies in this arena.) Right now Liz and I are both healthy and Scott is in NYC on business so hopefully Jane won't catch anything while she is here.

This will be the first time I have had a face to face meeting with my brother in law since my sister left him temporarily due to his drug addiction. We had quite a falling out before he went into recovery and although we have had a couple of heart to heart discussions over the phone since then I'm sure that seeing him in person will be a little uncomfortable for both of us.

He has been sober for almost 19 months now and my sister honestly seems much happier than she ever has before. He has stuck by her and supported her through her cancer diagnosis and treatment and has managed to stay away from drugs too...Not an easy thing for anyone to do. So, he gets a second chance from me. He deserves it. I just hope that he will also give me a second chance, for Jane's sake.
posted by GodlessMom, 5:51 AM

6 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said:

I am so sorry that your sister is sick. Hopefully he will realize the importance of "Peace between family members."
In-laws can be so difficult.
Posted at 9:03 AM  

Blogger BarbaraFromCalifornia said:

I am sorry to hear that your sister is sick. I hope that her time with you and your family is good.

As for your brother-in-law, 19 months of sobriety is wonderful. The fact that he has stayed with your sister, and worked through his own addiction issues, one day at a time, is a tribute to him and your sister as well.

I wish continued best wishes to you and your family.
Posted at 9:25 AM  

Blogger TLP said:

I'll send good thoughts your way. Hope that helps. Put on your very best smile and act as if everything will be okay.
Posted at 9:31 AM  

Blogger dddragon said:

We'll be thinking of you and your sister, and hopefully her husband will continue on the right road.
Posted at 9:42 AM  

Blogger Lila said:

I'm very sorry that Jane is sick. If your brother-in-law is on the path to healing himself, then hopefully he'll understand your past feelings about him. He might have his OWN feelings about his past!
Posted at 10:54 AM  

Blogger The Lazy Iguana said:

Cancer sucks. I hope everything works out for your sister. I had a friend that got the big C at age 30.

As for her husband, just remember that drug addiction is a sickness. At least I think it is. Why else can some people drink alcohol and not have a problem with it, while others sprial into the depths of alcoholism? I think it has to do with genetics, body chemistry, and enviornment.
Posted at 11:56 AM  

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