A difficult sister

United States
March 18, 2007 3:59pm CST
My middle sister, has some serious issues. She loves my four kids to death and enjoy thier company. I moved 3 hours away and for christmas she bought them cell phones, so that they could keep up with her. I would go months without talking to her, and she would call me out the blue, and on some occassions it took me awhile to catch her voice. I stopped calling her becaue she would never answer my calls. I would go by her house and she would not open the door, Things like this. She is a diabetic and stays sick alot, but she has these mood swings that just are unbearable. As long as she can get help from me shes my best friend, but if I can't help her with anything, she will no talk to me for months as if I could have helped her but I didn't. She does not like my dad very well and has gone almost a year at one point without talking to him. he has done nothing to her and she says he has done nothing she just doesn't have nothing to talk about. Talk about a disfunctional family, but she is my sister and I just give her spcae. How would you handle a difficult sister, without cutting her off?
2 responses
sarah22
@sarah22 (3979)
• United States
26 Mar 07
well my older sister is just like that,she has chosen a different kind of life and i do not object to it. but if you do not like her friend, then she stops talking to you for months at a time. me, i just say ok you will come back when you need something. and funny enough she does. i just let her be. nothing will ever change that. she has chosen her parth in life. and i just say, if it makes you happy,have at it.
Stringbean
@Stringbean (1273)
• United States
18 Mar 07
Unless she is being destructive to herself, I would just leave her alone. If she wants to get in touch, she will. Maybe your kids will clue you in about how she is doing if they keep in touch with her on their cellphones. Don't worry about what she says to other people about you. If they know her well at all, they understand how she is and aren't going to believe bad things she says. I would still send her a birthday card and gift if you have been doing that and the same for Christmas, but would just cut back on the every day communications. Let her initiate the contacts except for an emergency where you might have to get in touch. Invite her to family gathers just like you would any other relative, but don't make a big deal of it. If she comes, fine. If she doesn't that's okay, too. Just let her take on whatever she feels up to taking on in the way of a relationship.