Mysterious ways, indeed.
I have a sister. Well, technically two, however, one of them I've only met once, as she's from my dad's previous marriage, and has stayed with her mom on the far side of the country. I've often spent time wondering where she was, what she was up to, etc., until one day, out of the blue, I got a facebook message from her.
I can't say as there was a terrible amount of conversation, in fact it was pretty much limited to "Hey there, long lost sister," and "Hey yourself, long lost brother" followed by a smidgen of status posts. Enough to know that she's in the National Guard, spinning up to ship out to Afghanistan later this month. So, it came as a shock when talking to my dad this morning, he tells me that I might want to get in touch with her because her eldest son just attempted suicide.
As I sat staring at the keyboard wondering what I should say, it dawned on me that my experiences, and comfort discussing the subject makes me an available resource to her with intimate knowledge of both sides of suicide. A resource that she wouldn't have had, had she not sent a random friend request to her long-lost brother just several months earlier. So I sent a short and simple message explaining that my previous fiance had killed herself, which led me to attempt as well, and that when she needed or wanted to talk, I'll be here.
I have a sister. Well, technically two, however, one of them I've only met once, as she's from my dad's previous marriage, and has stayed with her mom on the far side of the country. I've often spent time wondering where she was, what she was up to, etc., until one day, out of the blue, I got a facebook message from her.
I can't say as there was a terrible amount of conversation, in fact it was pretty much limited to "Hey there, long lost sister," and "Hey yourself, long lost brother" followed by a smidgen of status posts. Enough to know that she's in the National Guard, spinning up to ship out to Afghanistan later this month. So, it came as a shock when talking to my dad this morning, he tells me that I might want to get in touch with her because her eldest son just attempted suicide.
As I sat staring at the keyboard wondering what I should say, it dawned on me that my experiences, and comfort discussing the subject makes me an available resource to her with intimate knowledge of both sides of suicide. A resource that she wouldn't have had, had she not sent a random friend request to her long-lost brother just several months earlier. So I sent a short and simple message explaining that my previous fiance had killed herself, which led me to attempt as well, and that when she needed or wanted to talk, I'll be here.