When our mother fell ill, I was the one who cared for her. When she passed, I covered every detail of the funeral. But at the memorial, my sister stood up and took all the credit.
What happened next wasn’t loud or dramatic, but she never saw it coming.
Growing up, I never imagined my life would turn out the way it did. I married my high school sweetheart, Mark, right after college.
We have two beautiful children, Emma, 15, and Jack, 12.
My days were filled with school drop-offs, weekend soccer games, and quiet evenings with Mark on our porch swing. We weren’t rich, but we were happy.
Our life had a comfortable rhythm to it.
Then, last spring, Mom called with the news that turned my world upside down.
“The doctor found something,” she said in a trembling voice. “It’s cancer, Emily.”
At first, she just needed rides to appointments and help in remembering her medication schedule. I’d stop by three times a week, cook a few meals she could reheat, and pick up her groceries.
Mark was wonderful about it, taking over more with the kids so I could be there for Mom.
“You’re an angel,” Mom would say, patting my hand. “I don’t know what I’d do without you.”
As weeks turned into months, the cancer spread.
Soon, Mom needed help getting dressed, bathing, and even walking to the bathroom. I started going to her house every day, sometimes staying overnight when she had bad spells.
And Doreen, my older sister?
Nowhere to be found.
“I called Doreen again,” I told Mom one afternoon while helping her into a fresh nightgown. “She said she’s swamped at work. Some big project.”
Mom’s face fell for just a moment before she forced a smile.
“That’s alright. She’s always been so career-focused. I’m proud of her for that.”
But I saw the hurt in her eyes.
Doreen lived just forty minutes away.
It’s not like she lived across the country. She could have visited. She could have helped.
When I called to update her on Mom’s condition, Doreen always had excuses ready.
“You know how it is, Em,” she’d say with a sigh.
“Work is crazy. And honestly, I don’t have the mental bandwidth right now. Hospitals depress me.
You’re so much better at this stuff.”
To be honest, this wasn’t new behavior.
Even as a kid, Doreen had mastered the art of taking credit while avoiding work.
When we’d bake cookies together, somehow Doreen ended up presenting them to Dad as “her special recipe.”
The story doesn’t end here –
it continues on the next page.
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