Blog Post #2

My second blog for this assignment will reference Recommendation #8: "Partition personal feelings from the distractions in ministering to the needs of a Senior Citizen." 

This might sound horrible, but I could not stop laughing when I read this portion of the manuscript. For years I have been putting into practice the concept of "partitioning" my feelings from what my mother needs from me. This all began when I was a freshman in high school. In December of 2003, my mom was diagnosed with breast cancer. She wouldn't allow me to be involved in the medical aspects of her life at the time, but over the years she became almost completely emotionally dependent on me. I became her best friend, even though I did not view her in the same light at the time. Being that she felt so close to me, she began sharing everything with me.... I mean EVERYTHING--- even things a child would never want to know about his/her parents. She would talk to me about everything from what boyfriend she lost her virginity to, to how disappointed she was in my brothers and the lives they've chosen for themselves. Eventually I realized that her opening up to me in this way was a result of the fear of dying that surviving breast cancer had forced upon her. I have learned over the past seven years how to compartmentalize and divide my emotions and personal issues from helping her to deal with her emotions and personal issues. While I'm sure my mother will live for years to come, I understand now that this was just part of her personal aging process.