I'm dreading it because it'll be the fifth year without contact from my older brother, his wife and their young daughter, because they abandoned the family with no reason given or forewarning. So it'll be me visiting my (our) parents in their big family home, just the three of us and an empty void.
Basically they just dropped us like garbage. We know they're still around, so they haven't disappeared in a plane crash or anything. They always seemed happy at family affairs or visits and on the phone, then one day, nothing: no returned calls, emails etc.
My parents loved their granddaughter and they haven't seen her for all these years, and who knows what my brother's excuse to her is for the fact we never come around or have been heard from since.
My mom still sends b-day and xmas cards to her with cheques inside, but they're never cashed.
To my parents it's like losing their first son. While I try to keep the feeling positive & steer any conversation or things that remind us of them away, it's a lot of work, and I can always see my missing bro's shadow creeping over us through the night.
So it's not really SA-related, but it's still an anxious time, and at least I'm there to help my parents not feel so rejected.
