I had lunch with old friends a few days ago. Along the way of talking about children, we discussed nieces too. Betty's niece was tangled with a handsome young man with many girl friends in her first year of University. As a result of her yo-yo emotional swings, she did badly. She actually talked her family into letting her have a gap year learning Buddhism studies in a foreign country. After that year of quiet contemplation, she came back and completed her first degree with better grades. Guess what? She is working now, and she is in a relationship with the same young man who caused her such a lot heart-ache.
Minnie also has a niece at risk. This young lady kept losing weight until she landed in the hospital. The doctors suspected her of having anorexic nervosa. And accordingly she went under psychiatric care. The sad thing is she could not get along with her shrink. Minnie's eldest sister kept on pressing Minnie into spending time and talking to the patient. Strictly speaking, lay people should not meddle in such cases as anorexics do die from heart attacks. But well, in a case of life and death, why shouldn't a concerned loved one make the effort and take the time to connect with the patient? If a person feels bad enough to starve herself to that extent, surely she needs others to pay attention and to really listen to her.
Betty and Minnie both have sons only. They would not get extra feminine participation in their families until their sons marry. Thank goodness they will be spared the heartaches the mothers of the above-mentioned young ladies are currently going through.
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