Fishing and family

I am lucky that I did not live in a culture that relied on fishing as a means to make a living and feed ones family.  While I seem to be getting better at the "sport" of fishing (we can at least catch bait-fish), I still pretty much suck if you judge me on results.  Thankfully, when I go out on the boat with rod in hand, it is more about spending time with my son then bringing home dinner.

Thursday I went down to Boston to visit my sister who is currently residing at a psychiatric hospital.  It was a rough, highly emotional meeting that included her doctor.  She is completely obsessed with the past; reliving the pain of everything she believes she did wrong.  I spent way too much time talking and need to be a better listener.  She left her home when her kids were young, mostly due to chronic depression.  She did her best to support her kids but  was often unable to be there when they needed her.  She is now all but ostracized from her family and I have been trying to help her rebuild the relationships with her children.  I have emphasized that she maintain constant, but not annoying, contact with them using email, phone calls and letters.   I have advised her not to expect them to reciprocate anytime soon, but to be patient and persistent.  However, she felt that her efforts would  be unwelcome so she did little to nothing to change the situation.  I will continue to support her anyway that I can including a trip down there today.