From 10 to 3

My mother (and, by extension, my father) had 10 people in their house. My sister, who is anxious and wanting to go on a mission, my other sister, who is a drama queen (not as in dramatic, but acting/singing musical ability) and my brother, his wife and their four kids.

So, even with me gone, my parents have a full house. And, because of my anxious sister, cruel sister-in-law, subservient brother and four grand kids ranging from 2-8, the house is stressful. (And I'm being nice).

As you guys know, I wrote about my sister-in-law once. It is in the archives. I wrote about how terrible she is to everyone, especially my mother, and justifies it with a holier than thou attitude. (I mean, reading scriptures in public and commenting about how perfect her kids are (because of her good parenting) really drives this home, right?)

Well, my parents lost 7 out of the 8 people that were in their household. My anxious sister got called on a mission and left three days later. (Take that at face value, because it is a little complicated and she was a special exception.) And then, because my anxious sister was out of the house, my father finally pressed, strongly, his decision to kick out my dead weight brother and his terrific wife, the house went from 9 to 3. And their house is a whole lot less hectic, a lot less mean-spirited.

Despite this calm, I have never heard my mother cry so hard when I called her. And never even thought my father could cry.

Because kicking my brother and sister-in-law out of the house was harder decision then the black and white I wish it were. The threat was that if they got kicked out, my mother (who adores her grand kids and has always been about family first) would never see the grand kids again. And so, my sister-in-law who doesn't make idle threats, has hurt my mom in more ways than she could have while living with my parents.

Logically, they needed to be kicked out. But after hearing my mother, I too am heartbroken. I love my mother. I know she loves me. I may have doubted that once, but that was me being silly and dramatic. And now, she has been hurt by losing all her beloved grand kids. She has five more, but that doesn't make the pain of the four's disappearance any less sad. And so... I wish I could pray and believe that someone would do something about what I feel. Because I want my mother to be better. I do. And I feel for her. And it makes me sad. Sadder than words.