Mom

[katkt]

Since Caitlin's party, I have been intending to write down a "this is what happened with my mother" reference -- the actual things that happened with her health as well as my reactions to them and my emotional journey since and some of my thoughts about how it has affected my life and blah blah blah. (summary : she died of cancer when I was 19. I

Comments

[spiralngphoenix]

I was 13. I didn't cope well, either. Hell, I still don't, some days.

*hugs*

[katkt]

Thanks.

My sister was 14 - and then there were custody issues. This is completely unscientific, but from observing me, my (older) brother, and my sister, and bits and pieces of a few other people, I think early teens is the worst possible time. So - my sympathies. *hugs*

Apparently, I don't cope so well some days either. Which is surprising -- I'd thought I was done with that. It's been a Long Time(tm).

[dervishspin]

My dad lost his father when he was 16 and his mother as a senior in college.
He also has a younger sister he needed to take care of.
I have a child's view of what that may have been like and how it affected him.
It is something that profoundly shapes who you are and how you react to the world.
I am happy to listen in person if you need to process some more.

[katkt]

For complicated reasons, my brother (who was 22) ended up with custody of my sister for about a year. Life is complicated.

Thanks for the offer -- we'll see what happens if the opportunity arises. It's not something I _need_ to talk about - and if it were, I've learned that the correct solution for that is to see a professional.

[last_real_angel]

I hear ya, and am here if you need someone to bounce thoughts off of. I lost my dad when I was 18, though my sisters were in their mid 30s, I think in some ways they handled it better and in some ways I did based off of where we were in life.

[katkt]

Thanks. Maybe we can trade stories sometime. I'm curious what you mean about your sisters. I always used to think it would get easier as you got older, but I'm less convinced of that than I once was, probably because I'm old now.