The Art of Repairing Relationships
I had to learn to handle conflict differently from what my family taught me.
The Rupture
The end of the relationship began with a text. “Could you please call me?” It was one of many I sent to my sister that went unanswered. The call finally came, some 6 months later.
The unraveling of our connection began with a visit to her home, to celebrate the New Year. It had been an emotionally draining trip. I had been going through a rough patch, which made putting on a happy face for her family hard to do. My sister knew that something was going on, but during the visit, she never once asked me how I was doing, what was going on in my life, or offered any kind of emotional support.
When I finally reached my sister 6 months later, our conversation got off to a rocky start. She launched into a story about her recent move to a new house with nary a greeting like, “How are you? What’s new with you? ” Having had my emotional needs deferred long enough, I interrupted her.
“I’ve been trying to reach you for 6 months and really needed to talk to you.”
“Sorry, I’ve been busy. What’s up?”
“Well, I wanted to talk right after I came home after New Year’s. I needed to share that during that…
