My Sister’s Death Wasn’t Part of the Plan

I had a life agenda, and she didn’t follow it

There was an order of things in my mind — Author’s photo

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I figured I’d go last. I’m the baby of the family, so it made the most sense. Mom and Dad are older, so they should age out nicely and leave at a ripe, old age, then my big sister and I would grow old-ish together, and our order would likely be a crap shoot. She smoked, although she always acted as if she were quitting, so the odds were against her.

But then she quietly and sneakily drank herself to death. At least a solid 20 years before she should’ve left this planet.

Now I’m pissed. And alone, without a sibling.

I had an order of things, and she messed that all up.

We’d both deal with our parents aging, supporting each other along the way. We’d make hard decisions together, deal with logistics together, and navigate our own aging together. We’d handle the affairs together and figure out what to do with the house together. Then, once all was dealt with, we’d continue visiting each other often, laughing, telling stories from our youth, and making idiots of ourselves well into our gray-haired years.

We joked that if we got really old and ended up single, we could live together Grey Gardens style. Funny, but…