Today I arrived at work thinking that this would be a day like any other. It has been anything but. It
has been a combination of joy, sorrow, and relief.
My niece in New Mexico left me a message this morning. My sister died yesterday. The whole situation
is very confused. My sister had caused major schisms in our family, to the point that everyone was
left alienated and reeling.
Physical abuse, mental abuse, emotional abuse, and manipulation were her tools of the trade.
I had kept a relationship with my nephew after my sister decided she no longer wanted a son, and we
both finally established contact with one of his sisters about two years ago. The third sister, however,
was impossible to track and we could find no information.
My emotions are running the gamut from joy to sorrow today. Joy in that I have finally re-established
contact with my remaining niece and her husband and son (whom I have never met), sorrow in the
loss of my sister, relief in that her reign of terror is over, sorrow that she could never get past her
pride and arrogance to try to heal the wounds.
I'm hoping that this weekend I will get a chance to reunite with a niece I have not seen in eight years.
We'll hopefully be able to work together through this, and we'll hopefully once again have a small, but
whole family unit.