On Monday evening we had a family meeting. And for once, by some miracle, all of my offspring managed to show up. Later, my brother asked me if I manage to keep all the grandkids straight, and I have to admit “usually”… sometimes I do have to pause for a minute, to get the right name.
Anyway, this annual Chanukkah party has a two-fold purpose:
One, as would be expected, is for all the siblings to get together, and have some fun. But the second reason is to think about Ricki’s future. I don’t want that after I die, that Ricki should fall as a “burden” on one of her siblings. She has, thank G-d, enough siblings that looking out for her best interests can be done by several people. I want that the siblings should be used to checking:
-What does Ricki want?
-What are her dreams?
-Can we help her obtain these dreams?
-Can we help her be more independent?
-Does Ricki get along with those around her? If not, can anything be done?
-Is anyone abusing or using her?
-Does she have any health needs that she needs help with?
Etc., etc., etc.
Now usually, Ricki’s siblings have treated my insistence on this as a joke. Suddenly, this year it wasn’t. She is getting older. I am getting older. And they are, it seems, getting to be more aware that theirs is a responsibility that really does need to be carried--- and shared.
3 comments:
that is encouraging and impressive. good for you! and them!
Did you come up with a plan? Were you able to answer all of the question you posed? How blessed Ricki is to have such loving siblings to support her.
Chris, we check through our list of questions (about thirty) at least once yearly. And then we decide what actio0ns to take. Sometimes I admit that the action is to do what was decided last time, but in general it works.
Post a Comment