The Choices you make

It never rains, but it pours.

My mother sent me a super huge long text while I was at work the other day, saying that my sister Kari was in hospital for anxiety issues. I've written about Kari before, but long story short-- she's 21 with a 3 year old boy and 5 year old girl, from two different fathers (who happen to be brothers). She's not with either of the fathers currently. The father of my nephew still sees him on the weekends, but the father of my niece does not claim her and doesn't want  to have anything to do with her. Kari can certainly pick some winners, let me tell you.

So, anyway, Kari was admitted into the hospital. I wasn't impressed. She needed to get her life together. Life is difficult, I get that it's hard. Heck, I just wrote yesterday about how my life doesn't work when The Agent isn't around. But Kari doesn't have The Agent in her life. She also doesn't have a job and lives with my mother for free. She needs to figure her life out.

So, my mother took a week off work so that she could take care of the kids while Kari was going through whatever anxiety issue she has. I asked my mother what she was going to do when the week was up and she didn't have an answer, just that hopefully Kari would be out of the hospital by then.

I suspected, even then, the cause of Kari's anxiety. Call me a cynic.

The next day, my mother texted me again. The hospital Kari was staying at can only keep her for 72 hours, but she was in a high risk room for drug users or people who are experiencing homicidal tendencies. She's not talking to anyone, but apparently she had said earlier that their neighbor had put cameras and wire taps all throughout the house. My suspicions were confirmed-- Kari is on some kind of drug, but which one is unknown at this point.

My mother believes that Kari's on meth. I'm not sure why she thinks that, or how she even knows what meth is. I've never taken it, so I don't know how it work. Do you smoke  it? Shoot it? Take it in a pill? I am blissfully ignorant. But anyway, my mom told Kari not to come home if she was on drugs. It turned out not to be an issue, because when Kari was released from the hospital, she was transported to a recovery center for substance abuse and mental illness.

(fyi-- do not google pictures of meth users. You'll have nightmares for weeks.) 

That is the extent of the information my mother has to date. But I am not optimistic. I am worried that she is going to lose those children. It might not be so bad with my nephew, he's still so young, and he has a father that is willing to be part of his life, but I am very worried about my niece's future. She already has one parent that doesn't want to be a part of her life-- what is she going to do if she loses the other one?

What really upsets is that 6 years ago, when Kari was 14 and pregnant, we offered to adopt the baby. We had just lost Adam, we hadn't been matched with BK yet, and we said we would adopt the baby and love her as our own. Kari said no. She said she wouldn't be able to live with herself if she made that decision. At the time, it turned out ok, because we got the call for BK two months later, and I always thought it was nice to have cousins that are only 6 months apart in age.

But can you live with yourself now, Kari? Who's going to help you now?

Ugh. I hope this story has a happier ending.