Little kids are weird. They say and do weird things. But at the end of the day, they are mostly just trying to figure out how to exist in a universe that is mostly indifferent to their presence.
I was not a good brother to my sisters. As the oldest, and a boy, I see now that I had an obligation to help them and protect them. Instead, I mostly I did my best to avoid both of my little sisters.
I was an angry and violent little child. There are a lot of reasons for this. Genetics (thanks Scott-Irish temper) certainly play a part. More than ever, I see the generational trauma that families like mine experience and manage to pass from parent to child over and over again.
This is less an indictment of my parents than an acknowledgment that we are all living in a rigged system. Each generation hands a big bag of love to their children and to that is attached the 800lb gorilla of the line’s worst traits.
These images are mostly of my middle little sister. There’s one or two of the youngest. They were part of a project I did to cope with the attack Misty suffered that left her permanently brain damaged from a hypoxic brain injury (look it up).
Misty’s always been blessed with good genetics of aging well and being attractive. But sadly, she didn’t get the lottery of how to choose men. We don’t know what happened to her. But indications are he may hve been involved. I can’t say, it’s not an accusation. At least not in print.
She lives with mom and dad now. They’re in their 70s and have been caring for her for 10 years. I’m not sure what teh short term will bring. But I’m confident on a long enough time line, she’ll be fine. It will probably work out better for her than me. After all, I still have the capacity to make bad decisions, and do so with great frequency.
If there’s a silver lining to her condition, it’s that she won’t ever make another bad one.
I love them both. Wish I could have been a better protector. More present. Closer. I didn’t know we’d end up on the shores we have. All that advice to take care of your family it turns out, is pretty good advice.
