SibNet

I recently joined a Facebook group called SibNet, which is for siblings of people with disabilities.  Just in the few weeks that I have been a member, I've seen more fear, pain and joy in the posts on this site than in any support group that I have ever belonged to.  The themes are all the same - guilt about not taking care of one's sibling, resentment at taking care of one's sibling, fear of the future after parents are gone, anger at responsibility laid at the feet of a sibling.  And, interspersed all too rarely, a story of a well-balanced family, happy results, peaceful resolutions.

It makes me want to spring into action, to take away the pain and fear for all these people who I know only by a paragraph or two.  I have felt the lifelong anxiety, the responsibility, the guilt.  Am I fully on the other side?  No, but there are long periods where I feel content with where I am and where my brother is.

I wonder how I can help.  I wonder if there is a way to connect siblings more directly than over social media.  I wonder if I have the courage to reach out.

So I long to connect more fully with my fellow sibs.  This blog was part of that notion a few weeks ago, but the chasm is much deeper than can be filled by a few hundred words.  I pray for guidance and a quiet heart to discern my path.  In the meantime, I keep on writing.