The year my sister was dying, I learned more about living that ever before.
As kids, we would fight and argue all the time, yet we were best
friends. We would drive our mother to her wits end with our orneriness.
The farm we grew up on was the perfect place for us to grow up. As we
grew up, married, and had children, we grew apart a bit. There was even
a smidgen of competition between us. She was terrible with money and
seemed to always need more. This became an issue with some family
members. Then she and her husband divorced, and the money struggles
continued. Then that terrible day happened when she was diagnosed with
terminal cancer at age 47. I was devastated and determined to find a
cure for her. We tried both conventional and some not-so-conventional
treatments. Nothing worked, and a year later we buried my sister.
During
that year I spent trying to keep my sister alive, I learned more about
life and living than I ever thought possible. I always measured people
by how successful they were financially. I certainly did all I knew to
do to be successful. I didn’t always succeed, but that was my focus.
When my sister’s medical bills were stacking up, family members were
fearful of expenses, but my sister seemed to rise above all this
garbage. She accepted her plight with grace. She never focused on her
illness by complaining, and most amazingly, she was always, and I mean
always, more concerned about others than about herself.
I
wasn’t able to find a cure for her, but she found one for me. She
taught me the value of caring like I never knew. She taught me that
money wasn’t nearly as important as healthy relationships and how we
treat people, especially the less fortunate. Yes, my sister certainly
gave me a good lesson in life the year she was dying. I hope I’m
passing this marvelous legacy on to others.
Doug
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Posted on
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
by As We Do Life
filed under