I have a sister who's 14 months older. We were close when we were little - played all the time with occasional normal fight. But as we grew older she began terrorising me and our younger sister who was born when she was 8 and I was 7. When I say terrorising I mean constant non stop bullying to the extent that when I was about 15 I got so fed up I told her I would only respond to her if she said something friendly or nice. It's telling that from then until I left home at 22 we hardly spoke. She continued terrorising younger sis until she left home 18 months ago. Older sis (now aged 32) still lives with my parents. Younger sis and I are very close. She actually hates older sis which considering she is very mild mannered and kind says a lot.
I now live in the UK while parents and older sis are in Ireland. We have tried to build a relationship in the past without much success.
Here is where it gets complicated. I was sexually abused by a family friend as a child and I suspect older sis was too. If she was it would have been around the time she became impossible to live with. Bearing this in mind with a bit of distance I have become quite sorry for her. She is very insecure and that is what drives a lot if her behaviour. I worry that she will end up living with my parents till they die and then be totally alone.
I visited her and my parents recently and she seems to be making changes. She's got herself a new job in her desired field and was really good with my kids (where before she was quite disengaged). Today she sent me a chatty text (literally the first one in at least 3 years) and I sent a chatty reply. After a few back and forth texts she sent one saying we should be in contact more and be friends like we used to be (when?) and leave the past behind. I said "of course" at the time but I'm unsure.
On the one hand how she treated me and my sister still angers me and I feel letting her into my life is a mistake. On the other I feel very sorry for her and still hope things can genuinely be better between us. Confused.
Any thoughts? Feel free to ask qjestions if anything isn't clear.
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What to do about sister?
16 replies
CailinDana · 06/11/2013 18:41
OP posts:
brokenhearted55a ·
06/11/2013 19:31
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