There are pros and cons to every kind of family, but I think, somehow it is so essential and ideal to have siblings. Rivalry, disagreements, noogies and wedgies, jealousy...they all exist. But today, I watched my mother and her sister hold each other as my grandmother's body was put into an incinerator and cremated; and now, as the two of them sit side by side, writing and editing their last memoirs of their mother...I realize this significant importance of having a sibling figure in one's life.
Even if two siblings are not close, they must be there for each other during family suffering. When a death in the family occurs, a hole is created, like a missing piece in a puzzle. All your loved ones (spouse, children, relatives, best friends) are like other pieces that try to fill this hole...they want to fill it of course, because they love you. But today when my grandmother's body was placed into the incinerator, I saw my dad reach out an arm to support my mom, I felt both me and my sister start forward to help her, I sensed our whole family's energy center around the two women in the middle of the group, the ones that felt the most pain. And in the midst of all this love coming from all directions, the two sisters turned not to us, but to each other. I think that if there is any possibility of finding your missing piece after a death, you would find it in your sister or brother.
In the meantime, I know I planned to write in here at least every few days, but I've been busy and lazy--a bad combination. I will update on life in Japan, a short hiatus in Taiwan, and more life in Japan as soon as possible.
