As if life couldn't get any weirder, I found out today that my niece passed away two years ago. Her mother, my younger sister, and I have been estranged for about that length of time. I do occasional internet searches on S.'s children, just see how they are doing since their parents and I aren't speaking. I was not expecting the news of her death, and it leaves me deeply shocked and sad.
My niece ghosted me about ten years ago for reasons I have never been able to figure out, and she was not willing to talk with me about it. When we did meet over family gatherings, she was saccharine to the extreme. This kind of behaviour drove me up a wall.
I have no idea if she had been ill for awhile, in an accident, or anything. Further searches reveal nothing. She was only 40 years old. She had a hard life, relying on her parents for financial support when her home decorating business wasn't doing well. She was a gifted caterer and party organiser with impeccable taste.
I don't think my older sister knows about this, and I hope to speak with her tomorrow. I'm glad my parents aren't around to see this. It would have devastated them. She ghosted them as well, but my mother in particular hoped for a happy reunion at some point.
Maybe they've had it now.
This is so sad. We are dealing with this situation in my husband’s family as well. It is painful beyond words. Especially when the cause of the estrangement seems so patently unfair. Families are such wounded things. I’m sorry for your loss, and for the love you clearly held for your niece all these years and could not express.
ReplyDeleteI have always been oddly calm about the estrangement. What really stings is keeping the news of her passing from me and other family members. Seems cruel. - T
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